ANOTHER star showing from Patrick Cripps in Carlton's 35-point win over Gold Coast came as no surprise to coach Brendon Bolton.
The Blues won their second game of the season at Metricon Stadium after overcoming a slow first quarter to score seven straight goals and blow the Suns away.
Bolton praised experienced hands Marc Murphy, Ed Curnow and Kade Simpson for leading the way, but said it was the performances of the Blues youth, headlined by Cripps, that gave fans a glimpse of Carlton's promising future.
When asked if he watched in awe at Cripps nearly single-handedly pulling the Blues over the line, Bolton said he'd seen it before.
"He's been doing it all year so it doesn’t surprise me," Bolton said.
"That's point one. It inspires youngsters… the interesting thing about Cripps is he's just not satisfied. I sort of heard his comments when he re-signed, he wants to take this club forward and this group forward."
Bolton said the right mixture of leadership and youth paid dividends for the Blues, who have worn strong criticism throughout the season for their lacklustre performances.
"It's amazing what happens when leaders lead the way," he said.
"If you have a look at (Marc) Murphy, (Patrick) Cripps, (Kade) Simpson, (Ed) Curnow, where they're on the stat sheet, and then you see the glimpses of all the young talent that we've bought in over the last few years.
"I think that's what you saw – you saw strong leadership and you saw glimpses of our future on display."
First year player Paddy Dow's two-goal performance, including a great running goal from 40m out, was one of several highlighted by Bolton
"Have a look at Paddy Dow's explosion into that goal, really powerful," he said.
"Ciaran Byrne hasn’t been able to play all year. You would see similar power running off the half-back flank there.
"They're two glimpses.
"Our forward line is incredibly young other than Matthew Wright. For the first time we saw Jack (Silvagni), Harry (McKay) and Charlie (Curnow) together…. You might not need to judge Cameron Polson just on touches, because he's all about pressure.
"You saw that young mix up forward for the first time, it wasn’t perfect but there was glimpses there."
Second-year player Sam Petrevski-Seton was also praised for his contested ball efforts, while Bolton said Matthew Kennedy's midfield performance eased the pressure on Cripps.
Bolton said he didn’t have a full assessment on a leg injury to Jacob Weitering, but believed it was corked quad.
He said the Blues would stay on the Gold Coast for a few days to take advantage of the warmer Queensland beaches to aide their recovery.
