AFTER  “being down the bottom for a while”, Sam Docherty is intent on keeping a good thing going.

And the in-form defender believes Sunday’s win against Adelaide was a sign of Carlton’s growing maturity in that it won a game it needed to win, on the back of a comprehensive victory the week before.

After conceding the opening two goals of the game, the Blues were awesome under the roof, at one stage kicking 15 of 18 goals to blow the Crows out of the water.

It was Carlton’s sixth win from its opening eight games, and following the trend of its predecessors, it was a triumph which came about from the team’s commitment at the source. 

Speaking on ABC Grandstand post-match, Docherty said there was a palpable sense of hunger among the playing group.

“There are elements of our game where we’re going well, but ‘Vossy’ has only had us for eight games,” Docherty said.

“Our willingness to learn and adapt and try and become a finished product for when we need it, that hunger and that drive… we’re trying to hang onto this as much as we can.

“The group is maturing and nights like [Sunday] are showing that. We were able to get the job done when we needed to, and we played a pretty good brand of footy.”

Docherty joined the Blues at the end of the 2013 season, with this marking that first time that he and Patrick Cripps have enjoyed winning starts to the season in campaign No.9 at IKON Park.

Casting an eye to the evenness across the competition at the moment, Docherty said it was crucial that the Blues didn’t rest on their laurels given the positions they find themselves in.

The 28-year-old said Carlton, like most other sides, was chasing a consistency it has not yet unequivocally found so far in 2022.

“Everyone in chasing consistency: there aren’t many teams doing that at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve had a message of being the best version of ourselves and we’re always chasing that.

“We’re starting to see more in our group. We’re getting a bit older and mature in our bodies and in our abilities.

“We’re trying to build towards that as much as we can. It couldn’t be more enjoyable on the field at the moment.”

That enjoyment is reflected in Docherty’s form right now, who - despite a John Nicholls Medal in 2016 and All-Australian selection in 2017 - is arguably on a career-best run.

Another 30-disposal game on the weekend saw Docherty receive coaches’ votes for a fourth game this season, despite the most interrupted of preparations to the campaign.

“The system is helping me play to my strengths which is what you need in AFL footy,” he said.

“I had a very minimal pre-season: it’s full credit to [Director of High Performance] Andrew Russell.

“We went into the unknown with this battle with my health and we didn’t know how I’d go with recovery and running and building my body back. It has come to fruition and I’ve been able to play.”