CARLTON assistant coach Cameron Bruce says the Blues’ season-ending clash with Adelaide is an opportunity for the backline to grow before the off-season.   

Bruce said Carlton’s defenders would face a big challenge handling the attacking threats posed by last year’s grand finalists, who have won two of their past three matches.

“When they are up and about Adelaide have a very dangerous and potent forward line, so we’ve got to be prepared for them at their best,” Bruce said.

“They’ve got a number of players that can kick multiple goals. They move the ball in a manner that gives their forwards a really good look at it.

“We’ll have to be on edge and hopefully finish off on a really good note.”

 The Blues’ defence has seen a mix of players come and go this season, with injury hitting hard.

 While Caleb Marchbank and Sam Rowe have made successful returns from the sidelines, knee injuries ended both Liam Jones’ and Lachie Plowman’s seasons early.

The duo joined the injury list alongside Sam Docherty, Tom Williamson and Alex Silvagni, who haven’t been sighted at senior level in 2018.

With just one match left in the season, Bruce said building synergy among the defenders would be a focus heading into pre-season. 

“Obviously we have struggled to get continuity with our back six. It was great to have (Jacob) Weitering back in the side on the weekend, who’s pretty important in terms of leadership and stability down there,” he said. 

“We just want to continue to build that stability and predictability amongst that back mix. They’ve got to get used to playing with each other and hopefully that will mean better performances going forward.

“In the off-season we have to continue building good habits and get the fundamentals right and continue to do them over and over again. Our group will look to have a really good pre-season and bounce back really quickly.”