RESILIENCE and maturity. 

That’s what Mitch McGovern saw in his backline in the second half of the Melbourne clash. 

Despite having more than 60 inside 50s fired at Carlton’s defence, McGovern was proud of how the back six rallied in the second half, refusing to let the disappointing first half hamper their progress. 

“[Melbourne] were pretty quick to move the footy on us and defending over 60 inside 50s was pretty tough today, especially in the heat,” McGovern said. 

“I thought Brodie [Kemp] and ‘Youngy’ in particular were impressive – their resilience in their mindset to get up over that [first half] and come out and have a big second half was important for their confidence but also for the group.”

Now that pre-season is officially finished, all eyes turn to the Gabba on Friday night, where Carlton will take on Brisbane in Opening Round. 

After a hot and physical pre-season - with two tough games against opponents -  the defender is sure the Blues are ready to bring their ‘DNA’ to Queensland and give it their all in the 2024 season.

“The amount of work we’ve done behind the scenes [is enormous],” he said.  

“We know what we’ve done internally and we trust all the work we’ve done with ‘Vossy’ and ‘Russ’ and we’ve got a pretty healthy list. 

“We still have a few to come back and I feel like the quality of footy we played out there the last couple of weeks and the quality of opposition holds us in good stead.”

As for himself, the 29-year-old is pleased to have another injury-free start to the year, able to train fully over pre-season for the second year in a row to give himself the best chance to play out the season.

“I’ve been pretty good, grinding through,” he said. 

“It’s nice to actually get a few pre-seasons under the belt and I’m really feeling confident and good and I’m excited for the year.”