“THERE’S no honourable loss in the AFL.”

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton said the Blues won’t be taking losses lightly as they aim to register their first win in 2019.

The Blues went down by 33 points to Richmond in last week’s season opener, responding from a slow start to take the game to the Tigers.

Speaking to Channel 9’s Footy Classified last night, Bolton said his side wouldn’t accept close losses — rather, improvement was the aim.

“Really clearly, there’s no honourable loss in the AFL. None,” Bolton said.

“Losses are only an opportunity to grow. We love to win every game but we know in professional sport, there are wins and losses.

“When you lose, you’ve got to grow from them. There’s no honourable loss.”

Post-match on Thursday night, Bolton mentioned that he was “falling in love” with his players.

The coach said it was a by-product of the hard work and respect shared between everyone who represented the Navy Blue jumper.

“You can’t help but one connected to a group when you spend so much time with them,” he said.

“I’ve seen all the hard work they’ve put in, we’ve had tough experiences over the last few years. It’s all about respect, ultimately.”

Bolton said that the experiences shared over the last few years will create for a tighter-knit, more consistent group.

“I remember back talking to ‘Clarko’, you have big losses early days,” he said.

“Those experiences are what build resilience, your consistency improves off the back of it.”