THE Blues have arrived in Sydney to take on the Swans at the SCG in their Sir Doug Nicholls Round clash on Friday night.

Coming off the back of two losses, Carlton faces a tough opposition in the Swans, who sit fourth on the ladder.

Blues defender Lachie Plowman said the team wouldn’t shy away from the challenge.

“Obviously this week facing the Swans is going to be a big challenge. They’ve been in good form,” Plowman said.

“They’ve got ‘Buddy’ (Lance Franklin) down there so they’re one of the premier forward lines in the league, so I think it’s a good benchmark coming off a good week last week.

“It will be good to set ourselves against them and see how we measure up.”

Speaking at Melbourne Airport this morning, coach Brendon Bolton named Carlton’s defence as a positive out of the Geelong loss.

Plowman, who is a part of the Blues’ eight-man leadership group, agreed the backline was functioning well as a group.

“I think the backline is coming together. In the first few weeks and obviously against Melbourne, we didn’t get the result we wanted, and probably some of our key indicators didn’t go our way,” he said.

 “During the week we touched on it as a group, set ourselves some goals, and on the weekend, we were happy with how we went.”

With nine contested possessions, 20 disposals, and a match-high 15 one-percenters, Plowman played a pivotal role against the Cats.

He said stepping up as an on-field leader was crucial to the team’s development.

“The result didn’t go our way on the weekend, but I think that a lot of the leaders in the group stood up,” he said.

“I think it’s something to build on, and something ‘Bolts’ (Brendon Bolton) has been touching on too.

“The leadership density is a big thing for our club. If we can really drive the standards, the quicker we can upskill everyone. 

“Being a younger list, that will be great for the group.”

Ahead of Friday night’s match against Sydney, Plowman was confident that the Blues would challenge strongly.

“The main message leading into this week was that last week was a good effort, and we showed some fight the entire game,” he said.

“We just need to tidy up a few errors, so if we bring that again, we will be in the game for a long way.

“If we do that, then hopefully we will get the chocolates.”

Carlton will face Sydney at the SCG on Friday from 7.50pm AEST. Click here for a match-day guide.