Photo Gallery: Rd 14 2010 v Brisbane
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CARLTON'S big win over the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night had its origins in the aftermath of the disappointing loss to Fremantle.

That result sent the Blues into the mid-year break with consecutive losses, but midfielder Kade Simpson believes the frank and honest review that followed was the catalyst for the impressive second-half performance that drove the 55-point win.  

"We had a chat the day after the Fremantle game and just went through and figured out where we were going wrong," Simpson said.

"I think the two games we lost, we were losing the contested ball so that was an area we really focused on. We trained hard for it and it changed for the better tonight.

"We came back with a good focus on what we had to do get back to winning. We had some solid sessions on the track to get our intensity up and get our hard balls going. I think the lads showed that tonight in winning the hard ball and the intensity was good."

Despite the final margin, the Blues didn't have it all their own way as the undermanned Lions, without Brendan Fevola and Jonathan Brown, leapt out to a surprise 15-point lead late in the first quarter.

Simpson admitted the absence of the imposing forwards had made planning for the Lions tricky.

"It was a bit unpredictable without those two guys, which is what we want in our forward line … and they certainly had it," he said.

"They had a few guys bob up early, but I think our backs worked it well and took all-comers in the end.

"It was good to see the boys stand up in the last quarter and it was good to actually run over a side and come away with a good win."