IF EVER there was an embodiment of Carlton’s shift, yesterday was it.

Back in Carlton’s first home game under the roof for the year in Round 6, the Blues came up against the Saints and fell by 22 points. They had just five individual goalkickers that day, despite Adam Cerra (39), Sam Walsh (38), Blake Acres (36), Patrick Cripps (34), George Hewett (29) and Nic Newman (28) ending the day as the top six disposal getters on the ground.

Back at the same venue 12 weeks later, that was completely flipped on its head against one of the premier teams in the competition.

No Blue had more than Sam Docherty’s 26 disposals against Port. Rather, it was the performance and effort of the collective that got the job done for the fourth consecutive game.

The Blues had nine individual goalkickers, after going nine, 10 and nine in the last three weeks. Instead of how much the Blues were getting of the ball, it was what they were doing with it, kicking 18 goals (32 scoring shots in total) from 59 inside 50s.

At the other end, Carlton’s defenders stemmed the tide as Port Adelaide threw some punches, although Michael Voss lamented the amount of ball his team had to defend (62 inside 50s conceded).

WHAT THEY SAID Voss looks for further improvement

However, there was no denying the amount of goodwill at Marvel Stadium yesterday from a Navy Blue perspective, with captain Patrick Cripps highlighting the Blues’ growth after a difficult run previously.

The Brownlow Medallist finished with 24 disposals, a goal and 10 clearances, becoming the first player since the stat was first recorded to record double-digit clearance numbers in 40 individual matches.

“We were lacking a bit of confidence [earlier this season], but now we’ve got that confidence back — not only with individuals, but most importantly, as a team. We’re playing a powerful brand, a tough brand of footy, and everybody knows what they’ve got to do,” Cripps told FOX Footy post-match.

“We spoke about it at the start of the game. It doesn’t matter where someone is on the ladder: if we rock up, bring our pressure and play team-first footy, we feel like our best can beat anyone. With Collingwood, Port Adelaide is the best team in the comp, so to come out and play our way with a really powerful brand was great to see.

“To see how much it means to not only us, but to the fans . . . it’s good fun out here.”