POOR kicking will cost Carlton a big match if they repeat Saturday's performance against Gold Coast, says coach Mick Malthouse.

The Blues were ordinary in front of goal against the Suns on Saturday, but were spared simply by the volume of chances they created.

Carlton kicked 16.24 in the 43-point win but could have sealed victory far earlier.

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Jeff Garlett (1.4), Lachie Henderson (4.3) and Eddie Betts (3.2) were all repeat offenders, but they had plenty of mates.

Mitch Robinson and Sam Rowe also missed easy shots on the run during the second and third quarters as the Suns stayed within reach despite being outplayed around the ground.

"We were really off," Malthouse said.

"I don’t know if that's (kicking points) a contagious thing. Contagious things on a football field are generally more mind than anything else.

"We see one miss, we tighten up, we miss a second, all of a sudden a third you might as well go back there taped up. There's no fluidness about the player and the shot. We've got to overcome that.

"When we need a goal we need someone to stand up."

Malthouse said Brock McLean was a perfect example of someone who had learned from his mistakes.

The veteran midfielder missed a sitter against North Melbourne last week but redeemed himself with two cool set shots against the Suns.

"They say practice makes perfect. I think perfect practice makes perfect," Malthouse said.

"We'll get the boys on the track and we'll work with that and see if we can work through it."

Malthouse said the performance was effective without being overly impressed with it.

He paid tribute to ruckman Matthew Kreuzer who had 41 hit-outs and was the catalyst for Carlton domination in the midfield.

He said Kreuzer was having a good season and getting better as it wore on.

Carlton won the clearances 41-29 to give plenty of supply to its dangerous forward line.

"From Ablett and their rucks and the younger players going through, they've been able to clear the ball comprehensively against top sides. We knew that was one of our challenges," Malthouse said.

"We knew if that's their modus operandi, then you've got to do something about it or you'll get beaten.

"We were good at times. There were a couple of times we got lax, but by and large we were pretty good."

Michael Whiting is a reporter for AFL Media. You can follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting