CARLTON coach Brendon Bolton cut an upbeat figure despite his side’s 30-point loss to Sydney at the SCG on Friday night.

The margin might have flattered the Blues towards the end of the match, but it certainly didn’t reflect the fight and the poise the young Carlton team showed for most of the night.

“I think we’re on the right track, I’ve said that all along,” Bolton said.

“We were right in the game, particularly even into the third quarter… some set shots really hurt us that quarter. I think we kicked four points in the third when the game was right on and at that point of the game we had enough inside 50s.

“There’s a little bit to learn from that, but we were in the fight for most of the game.”

The Blues coach praised the work ethic of his team and called for a bit of realism, especially considering the age profile of his young roster.

He used the analogy of children learning to walk to try and reconcile his team’s development.

“When young kids learn to walk, I think about my little fella Ned, when they learn to walk and they fall over it’s really easy to encourage and pick them up because they’re a youngster. And we’ve just got to realise sometimes in AFL football with the scrutiny, and that’s part of it I understand it, but it’s important that we don’t put ridiculous amounts of pressure and expectation on guys that are growing.

“I just think there needs to be some balance around that, like Paddy Dow and [Zac] Fisher, those guys are doing really well playing midfield time considering their age profile.

“I’m not saying that you don’t hold to account at all, but I just think we can be balanced sometimes with that and we can expect a lot of guys early in their careers."

Bolton singled out Liam Jones and Jack Silvagni for some praise, with Silvagni making his first appearance for the senior Blues side since Round 6 after a stint in the VFL.

“Good to see that Jack Silvagni showed a bit today. Kicked a couple of goals, led up well, played a little bit of mid, forward.

“As I said earlier in the week, with ‘Weiters’ [Weitering], [Harry] McKay, Jack, Charlie [Curnow] - all those guys are in their third year and from time to time the VFL will be required. Just good to see some growth there and particularly from Jack.

“I thought Jones was terrific and I thought he intercepted the ball, he held up most of the time and I think the last few weeks he’s built some consistency.”

Bolton knows he has to address Carlton’s skill errors and referenced the fact that the defensive 50 stoppages hurt his team, and execution was particularly lacking.

“We’d like to move the ball with more fluency. It’s a work in progress, but you’ve got to also appreciate they’re a pretty good side, Sydney. They put some serious pressure on themselves and we’re coming to terms with that as a group.”

The Blues will have a bit of extra time to work on things as they have a bye next round before a big clash back in Melbourne against another team struggling to find some form and fluency, Fremantle on June 16.