Bolton not worried about ‘random’ poor performance against Suns

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton believes Saturday’s 34-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns at Etihad Stadium was simply an ‘out of the box’ game compared to the good form his side had shown in previous weeks.

The third-year head coach said there was a strong belief that they’re system of play could be successful and that the weekends loss was a one off poor performance for the young side.

“We had opportunities, we had 67 inside 50s … they just applied good pressure and we were quite fumbly,” he said.

The Blues won plenty of possession and created plenty of scoring shots, winning the uncontested footy count by 46 and entering the forward 50 seventeen more times than the Suns.

Bolton said building connections between each player was important in order to make the most of these advantages.

“It’s about synergy, this group has just got to build together, and there’s a lot of new faces around,” he said.

With the weekend’s loss leading to a 0-2 start to the season, Bolton said his side didn’t feel any extra pressure heading into the must-win clash Friday night against traditional rivals Collingwood.

“Pressure is part of the landscape, every week there is an element of pressure,” he said.

Former number-one pick Jacob Weitering was one player feeling some added pressure this week after a poor game, but Bolton said they would back the young defender to bounce back.

“We’re backing him in, and he’s really clear on what he needs to do,” he said.

Come Friday night, the Blues will be bolstered by the return of ruckman Matthew Kreuzer and key recruit Matthew Kennedy, as the club plays off for the Richard Pratt Cup at the MCG.