Carlton coach Mick Malthouse was proud of his team despite the loss to the Cats on the weekend, pinpointing the courage of Michael Jamison and an increased determination from his team compared to last week.

Defender Jamison fought valiantly against Cats forward Tom Hawkins and was able to completely nullify his influence in the second half, leaving the Geelong big-man scoreless during that period.

Malthouse was proud of his number one defender’s performance, given the courage he showed to get up for the game in the first place.

“Well he’s got a couple of problems but I thought it was a gutsy effort to play,” Malthouse said.

In the physical game, the Carlton coach was also pleased with the increased hunger his side showed for the football.

“I was reasonably happy with the ability of players to play with greater passion than last week and a lot more urgency.”

Defensive-midfielder Andrew Carrazzo mirrored Malthouse’s words, showing his trademark tenacity for the football, leading the team with eight tackles.

He also assumed the role of quelling the influence of midfield dynamo, Steve Johnson, and was supremely effective in doing so, keeping him to 19 possessions and no goals.

While captain Marc Murphy and best afield Bryce Gibbs were also outstanding in that department, collecting six tackles each to go along with their 20 and 29 disposals respectively.

In what could be regarded as his best game for the club, Gibbs also adopted the role as the Selwood suppressor.

The Geelong midfielder had a limited influence on the game, collecting his second-lowest disposal tally of the season, all to Gibbs’s credit.

In what was a low possession game, Carlton’s new recruits Sam Docherty and Andrejs Everitt continued to find the football and added to their impressive starts to the season.

Docherty collected 21 touches, which was the third-highest for the Blues, while Everitt was able to successfully execute his defensive-running role, gathering 19 possessions.

Robbie Warnock won the big-man battle against Hamish McIntosh, amassing 39 hitouts.

Carlton’s number one ruckman now stands third in the league for hitouts, averaging just over 35 a game, and could now be regarded as one of the best tap big-men in the competition.