“WE’VE GOT to turn up for four quarters.” 

That was Jacob Weitering’s blunt assessment of the season so far for the Blues, speaking to Gerard Whateley on SEN on Wednesday morning. 

Admitting he’s not disappointed with Carlton's record to start the season - with three wins, one draw and one loss - Weitering does accept that the team hasn't been playing its best footy – even in wins. 

What is a change for Weitering, however, is learning these lessons with four points in the pocket.

“I look at previous years and I'm certainly one to appreciate four points and a win, just in the way we’ve started previously in my career,” Weitering said. 

“It’s a funny way to look at it – we’ve talked about it as a group and sometimes you come off the field when you’ve had a decent lead and might let a team back in late like we did against North Melbourne and it might not feel like a win, but at the end of the day, it’s learning lessons with four points in the bank.” 

Referencing the challenging nature of the Crows game and the way the game started (the Blues conceded eight first-quarter goals), Weitering said the main focus was putting into effect the lessons learned from Thursday night in the team's first loss of the season.

“[Adelaide] were +66 in disposals, they had 20 inside 50s [in the first term], throughout the game they had 20 inside-50 marks which is not good from a defensive point of view,” he said.  

“We were within that four-goal mark and if a few things go our way, if we’re tough in the contest and we probably vary up our ball movement going forward - not be too Harry and Charlie conscious - we might be able to put a score on the board. 

“They’re all lessons we’ve learnt now and we’ll look to implement going forward.” 

As for the defensive unit as a whole, the backman has been pleased with the way his line has performed up until the Round 5 game. 

Noting his own performance - as well as Lewis Young’s - Weitering has been happy with how his team has defended and kept opposition scoring to a minimum in the first four rounds. 

Now with a loss under their belt and a few key outs, the backline will have to band together and challenge each other's mistakes from Weitering's perspective.

“The defensive unit, I’ve been really proud of the way we’ve gone about it,” he said. 

“We’ve had a lot of inside 50s against us and that’s usually not a good thing but aside from the weekend, scores per entry percentage has been really good. 

“We’re defending the line really well I think and hopefully we can do it again against the best side in the competition at the moment.”