Mark Thompson is confident young forward Jake Carlisle can turn his form around against Collingwood at the MCG on Anzac Day.

The coach denied speculation during the week that the pair were in a rift following a below par performance against St Kilda.

Thompson said he was looking forward to seeing the 22-year-old in action against Collingwood.

“We are not bluing at all it is just about coaching these young men,” Thompson said.

“When I was speaking to him, trying to encourage him last week, at three quarter time it was spoken about me having a fight with him and it couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“I am actually a big support of the kid so good luck to Jake.”

“He wants to play, we had a few talks this week and I think he will do really well.”

Captain Jobe Watson on Thursday said he had no concerns about the relationship between the coach and Carlisle.

“He’s been challenged, as we all have,” Watson said.

“Jake’s probably felt the heat a little bit more than others. But I think that he knows what the expectations are from the players and the whole club and I’m looking forward to seeing him perform.”

“He has got an enormous amount of talent. He probably feels the weight of expectation a bit and feels like he has to go above and beyond, but certainly the message from the playing group is that he has to play a role, a team role, and that’s all we expect of him.”