Carlton's return to earth after the optimism of round one came at the hands of what coach Brendon Bolton hailed as a well-oiled Sydney machine that showed the Blues the four-quarter consistency and strength of culture his rebuilding club must aspire to.
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The Blues went down by 10 goals at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night, and while Bolton was heartened by "the little sprouts" of promise, he highlighted the contested possession differential - minus-20 overall despite Carlton winning the third quarter 41-27 - as evidence of the gap in maturity his players must work to redress.
"We played a very well-oiled machine that's got a very strong culture, been developed over time and we aspire to get to that space," Bolton said. "We know it's going to take some time, but we're not going to give up on going into every training session trying to improve and make that gap up.
"The contested possession count other than the third quarter speaks for itself - they've got strong bodies, we do it for periods of time but we need consistency with it. We lacked consistency last week in terms of being able to finish with foot skills, this week it was a bit more in the contested side of the game.
"We've had so much change in our club, it's going to take some time to ingrain it. It's a challenge, but that's what footy clubs are all about."
The Blues won only nine centre clearances for the game - six of them to Patrick Cripps - compared to the Swans' 18, a discrepancy that helped Sydney record 25 more inside 50s. Bolton reiterated a mission to see improvement in every four-game block.
"I think what we've just got to appreciate is the little sprouts - there were some periods of play where we did stick it out, we hung tough as a group, we united and we transitioned the ball, but we probably lacked some polish.
"We've gotta build - it's little building blocks. We look at that and say, 'Yeah, that was well done, but it wasn't for long enough.' We do understand the task we had there - it was against a very well-oiled machine. But we'll keep challenging."
Bolton pointed to Charlie Curnow's last-quarter goal - a career-first for the No.12 draft pick - as a small positive for a player the coach said has much to improve on. In Matthew Wright, delisted by Adelaide before being picked up by the Blues, he noted a story of hunger that all at the club could learn from.
"We're only in this game for a very short time, and he appreciates that and he's playing with that attitude. Some of our youngsters will learn that in time. It's a small window, a great opportunity - AFL football's special, not everyone gets to play.
"Good cultures share their stories. Those who have been in the system a long time that you see as stars, there's ups and downs early. We often look at them and see them just as stars, and forget the journey early is a bit up and down.
"That's no different to our whole footy club at the moment, so those stories are important to share."
Blaine Boekhorst was the Blues' only injury concern, playing out the game after suffering a corked thigh in the first quarter. Bolton was confident he will play next Saturday night against Gold Coast.
