Although Carlton has only two games left in its 2016 football campaign, coach Brendon Bolton insists his side won’t be taking its foot off the pedal as the season draws to an end.

With the Blues preparing to face a finals-hungry Melbourne outfit this weekend, Carlton will be striving for an energetic performance after just falling short to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

“We know they (Melbourne) are going to be determined, but we’re as determined ourselves to grow and improve on last week,” Bolton told the media on Friday morning.

“(Our focus) is about making sure we go out and give effort for four quarters.

“We’ve got as much to play for as they (the Demons) have.”

Reflecting upon the season so far, Bolton said his men have grown as a collective though conceded his side is still developing a “high performance mind-set”.

“We’ve grown as a team,” Bolton said.

“A lot of our growth is understanding that it’s really important in this competition to do it (effort) for longer than your opposition, week in week out, quarter by quarter.

“It’s really important for us to keep growing.”

Despite losses exceeding the Blues’ wins this season, the Carlton faithful should join Bolton in finding confidence in his side’s determination across each contest.

“For most of the year we’ve given real effort and fight to the end,” Bolton said.

“(Despite) our win to loss ratio in the last few months, there’s been some really tight games. It shows our players don’t give up the fight.”

Carlton’s Round 22 clash with Melbourne on Sunday will mark the Blues’ final home game for the season, with the match kicking off from 1:10pm at the MCG.