The bye can’t come soon enough for Carlton, who face a third consecutive six-day turnaround before taking on AFL heavyweights West Coast in Perth on Thursday.
Carlton suffered their fourth loss in their past five games on Friday night at Etihad Stadium as Geelong overcame a first-half deficit to win 14.13 (97) too 11.19 (85) in front of 47,632 fans.
Inaccuracy was a key factor for the Blues, especially their tally of 2.9 to Geelong’s 4.3 in the final term.
While Carlton coach Brett Ratten was pleased to see his side show more spirit than they did in their 54-point loss to lowly Port Adelaide in round 10, the reality is the Blues now have a 6-5 record and hold a shaky grip on a top-eight spot.
Ratten sidestepped a question about the pressure he’s under to deliver a top-four finish in 2012, which would be an improvement on last year’s semi-final exit.
“We’re not looking at the end of the season and are we in the eight or are we out of the eight,” Ratten said.
“We’ve got a huge challenge going over there (Perth). It’ll be good for us to get away.”
Ratten is hoping to nurse ruckman Robbie Warnock through one more game before the Blues have the bye in round 13.
The 206cm giant had a game-high 30 hitouts despite being subbed off in the third term with a hip-tightness complaint he had carried into the match.
Ratten praised Bryce Gibbs for keeping star forward Steve Johnson goal-less, while the Blues’ mentor was also pleased to have Matthew Kreuzer, Lachie Henderson and Nick Duigan back from injury.
“I thought our willingness to work and crack in and keep competing was really good, where that’s fallen away at times in the last couple of weeks,” Ratten said.
“We were a lot bolder with the football, we took the game on.
“It’s a step in the right direction.”
Carlton won the clearances 40-37 and the inside-50s 54-51 and had 30 scoring shots to Geelong’s 27.
“We hit the post five times. That was pretty costly,” Ratten said.
Ratten highlighted the performances in defence of fourth-gamer Josh Bootsma, fifth-gamer Matthew Watson and Irishman Zach Tuohy, a second-year player who had 14 possessions and kicked a sensational goal on the run.
Eddie Betts booted four goals, while Kade Simpson and Brock McLean worked hard in midfield and Chris Judd shook off Mitch Duncan’s tag with a 10-possession final term to finish with 25 touches.
Duigan said the loss was a frustrating one, but he said the Blues were starting to get their self-belief and spirit back.