Carlton has a lot of work to do after a lacklustre performance against West Coast in its first NAB Challenge match, according to stand-in coach Rob Wiley.
The Blues lost by 31 points at Rushton Park on Friday night, but the scoreboard did not necessarily reflect the Eagles' dominance. Carlton had 118 less disposals, 25 fewer inside 50s, and 14 fewer scoring shots.
Wiley, who was standing in for the absent Mick Malthouse, said the Blues have a long road ahead of them to improve before round one.
"We've got a lot of work still to go. There's no doubting that," Wiley said post-match.
"There were glimpses and I think some of the young kids showed some patches.
"But overall, West Coast played some pretty good football and we're just lacking in some areas."
There were mitigating circumstances for the Blues. They were missing Marc Murphy, Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs, Lachie Henderson, Michael Jamison and Dale Thomas just to name a few.
But their lack of goals was a major problem in 2014 and it is once again cause for concern after Friday night's performance.
"We didn't score, so obviously there's a bit of a concern," Wiley said.
"Our three talls didn't work together. We probably didn't win enough ball through the midfield – that doesn't help.
"But this period is about experimenting and admittedly we have some good footballers coming back in two weeks time.
"Structures can change. We do have to win more football, but we also have to score when we get those opportunities."
Wiley said despite the loss there were some positive signs and he singled out the performances of some of the Blues' new recruits including Kristian Jaksch, Blaine Boekhorst and Clem Smith.
"I thought Kristian Jaksch was very good down back – he's only into his third year," Wiley said.
"Boekhorst and Smith both showed some glimpses of good football.
"Overall, it's a great experience for these young kids coming up and the intensity at the next level is just a fair bit higher.
"Ciaran Byrne played his first game. He's only into his second year as an Irish person. So that's a great learning curve for them."
The Blues have a 17-day break before they face Collingwood in their next NAB Challenge match at Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo on March 15.
