Carlton coach Brett Ratten was in no doubt at which end of the spectrum Friday night's contest against Melbourne fell, but he was delighted with the points nonetheless.
The undermanned Demons tried their best to shut the game down in the hope of snatching an ugly victory, but Ratten was pleased at how his team was able to fight through the midfield mire and come out the other side with a 47-point win.
"It was probably frustrating for the players and even for us at times," he said.
"We thought we had effective plays to go forward and score and we couldn't do that early. I think we got our act together a bit more in the second half with our commitment levels.
"I thought in the first half we just didn't seem quite switched on, but I thought it was so much better in the second half collectively. Then we lost a few men so that put a bit more strain on the team.
"I thought they ground the game out really well and there's some blokes who turned their first halves around."
Jordan Russell was substituted out of the match in the first quarter with hamstring tightness and was joined on the bench by Jeremy Laidler, who suffered a knock to the knee, in the third quarter.
Nick Duigan was also nursed through the final term with tightness through a gluteal muscle, which severely restricted Ratten's ability to rotate his team through the bench.
It was too early for an accurate prognosis for the trio directly after the game, but they will be aided in their efforts to stay in the team to take on Port Adelaide in round 11 by an eight-day break.
Although Friday night's win brought with it the welcome four points, it also told Ratten a lot about a team that has frustrated him and its fans in recent times.
"I think in the last couple of years if we've gone into games being the favourite then sometimes we haven't carried that burden as well as we should have," he said.
"I think there's no doubt that our group has really matured and taken responsibility for our actions and I can see that coming out in our performances.
"It was very workmanlike tonight."
Chris Judd was the subject of a flood of pre-match rumours that suggested he would be a late withdrawal with the sore foot he picked up in last week's loss against Geelong, but the skipper starred with 31 possessions.
"I heard there were about 2000 Twitter people saying that he wasn't going to play," Ratten said.
"I thought 'Well, if anyone's going to know then I am', and he was always going to play.
"I found that very amusing. It's funny."
