Brendon Bolton has praised Carlton for "hanging tough" in a 36-point loss to premiership fancy the Western Bulldogs, believing the Blues' effort has them on the right track despite a winless opening month of the season. 

The Blues were facing a thumping defeat when they trailed by 43 points at half-time, with the Dogs threatening to get off the leash under the Etihad Stadium roof. 

However, a combination of injuries to several Bulldogs, and Carlton's raised spirit saw the Blues remain competitive and reduce the margin after the long break.

The Blues fought back despite only 10 touches for the match from skipper Marc Murphy, who was physically ill at half-time and needed treatment for a nasty gash to the head after the break – although he escaped concussion. 

"I think our supporters should be happy with our effort, there's no doubt about that," Bolton said post-match. 

"In fact, I should say that the Bulldogs' second quarter was some really serious footy, so we're disappointed with how we handled that, but all credit to the Bulldogs they came out firing on the inside and outside of the game. 

"But we hung tough and that's really important for this group, that they hung tough.

"Typically, as we've been discussing over the last few weeks, we lacked a bit of polish but the foundation of effort and hanging tough's there, and I think our supporters should take note of that."

Blues fans could also take plenty of heart from the performances of Lachie Plowman and Liam Sumner (two goals) in their first games since crossing from Greater Western Sydney.

GALLERY: See the best snaps from Carlton's clash against the Bulldogs

Plowman, a former No.3 draft pick, blanketed dangerous forward Jake Stringer, while the Blues' defence held the Bulldogs to their lowest score this season, 85 points.

"I think guys like (Kade) Simpson and (Sam) Docherty are setting up our defence really well," Bolton said.

"Plowman showed a bit tonight, which was a really good inclusion for us. Roughly, I think they would've scored around 40 per cent of entries, which was fairly pleasing for our defenders. So there's steps in the right direction structurally." 

Carlton's attack remains a headache for Bolton, though, with the Blues only kicking 34 goals in four losses to Richmond, the Sydney Swans, Gold Coast and the Bulldogs.

Spearhead Levi Casboult went goalless on Saturday night after some wayward kicking and has just three majors to his name this season, although the Blues' ball movement and skill errors has made life difficult for all of their forwards.

"We went to the draft this year and recruited Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow, so we think our foundation up there of bigs will be really good in time – you've always got to wait though," Bolton said.

"But we think it's all about system, making sure we continue to win the supply and we can potentially play some midfielders forward – you're seeing glimpses of that now – but our ball use and connection is letting us down.

"We're not shying away from it and we've got to continue to train it."

Bolton said forward Liam Jones could come into consideration for a tough trip to face Fremantle in Perth next Sunday after booting five goals in the VFL against Geelong.