“WE KNOW there are 22 of us out there that can bring home a good result if we work hard together.”

It wasn’t the Friday night the Blues were hoping for, falling by 14 points to the Power, but their eyes are now set firmly on a huge clash at the MCG.

Taking on old enemy in Collingwood on Saturday night in Scott Pendlebury’s 400th game, there is plenty at stake for both sides.

However, Carlton midfielder Sam Walsh is adamant that his teammates are well aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

“Carlton v Collingwood is always big, but for there to be the milestone for ‘Pendles’ as well, it builds the hype,” Walsh said.

“I think both clubs are looking forward to cracking in. I know we are, to respond after the past couple of weeks.

“We know what we need to do, hopefully we can rain on the parade a little bit.”

The Blues’ Round 20 game looked sluggish in areas that have been their key strengths - such as their contest and pressure - and Walsh admitted they needed to get back to what they do best.

While form is a hard thing to hold onto the entire year, the midfielder said Carlton is clear on how it wants to play, need to show more composure and consistency in the final weeks of the home-and-away season/

“For us as a group, we’ve been together for a while, we know what works.

“We think our contest and pressure dropped a bit in that period and Port were able to pounce. From there, we could’ve looked to build our ball up a little bit more in our back half.

“Lots of teams have had up-and-down form, even throughout quarters, but we know we’re not too far from getting back to what we need to do.”

As a midfield unit, Walsh noted the disappointment with their outing against Port Adelaide and the group was determined to come out firing on Saturday night.

Noting the importance of playing and executing their individual roles, the 24-year-old was confident that a response would be given.

“The midfield group, we jell together really well, but it’s just about getting back to our roles,” he said.

“We’ve tried a few different little things at the moment, but I think getting that connection is the main thing and having great communication with each other so we can set up well and reset quick."

With Carlton currently sitting fourth on the ladder, Walsh denied there was any reason for panic, asserting that the Club is in a much better position than it has been for many years.

“If someone was to say a month ago that we’re in contention for one of the top four spots in the competition, you’d be raring to go, which we are,” he said.

“It just shows a couple of weeks can be a long time in football, but we know we’re not far from turning that back around the other way as well.”