ZAC TUOHY says after a year under Mick Malthouse, Carlton will be a far better team in 2014.

Tuohy said Blues players had expected a tough transition when Malthouse took over as coach in late 2012 and had struggled at times to execute his game plan last season.

"We did a lot of things well last year, but we let a lot of big leads slip," Tuohy said in Dublin on Friday.

"You can only put that down to the players, that's nothing to do with the coaches.

"We just weren't executing the game plan well enough. We believe we have the players and the game plan in place to win a lot more games than we did last year and we're all very excited."

The Blues were widely tipped to be a top-four contender last year with three-time premiership coach Malthouse at the helm.

But after a solid 6-4 start, they slipped out of the top eight in the second half of the year and only secured the last finals spot when Essendon was banned as part of its supplements program punishment.

The Blues ultimately finished sixth after beating Richmond in the first elimination final, but looked a fair way short of top-four teams Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong and the Sydney Swans.

Tuohy believes Carlton can start to bridge that gap in 2014.

"It was never going to be an easy transition. Any time a new coach comes to a club it takes time – it's a tough gig," Tuohy said.

"I've always said we think we should be playing finals and after that you never know.

"We want to get our foot into September, that's where we think we should be, that's where we think we will be this year and we just have to wait and see."

The Blues' 2014 prospects have been boosted by the acquisition of former Collingwood star Dale Thomas, 26, through free agency.

Tuohy said Thomas was exactly the type of player Carlton needed.

"He's got good run, a bit of X-factor about him as well and he's shown in the past he's a top player," Tuohy said.

"We'll back our medicos to get him out on the track for most of the year and once that happens you never know."

Tuohy enjoyed an outstanding season with the Blues in 2013, playing all 24 games on his way to a seventh-place finish in the best and fairest award.

The Irishman had already re-signed with the Blues in June to the end of 2016. With his Bendigo-born partner Rebecca pregnant, Tuohy says he hopes to extend his career at the Blues beyond that.

Tuohy was best on ground in Ireland's 22-point win over Australia in the first Test of the International Rules Series last Saturday night.

More International Rules news here

The Australians face the tall task of having to beat the home team by at least 23 points in the second Test to win the series.

But Tuohy said Ireland refused to enter Saturday night's game at Croke Park thinking it already had one hand on the Cormac McAnnellen Perpetual Trophy.

"It's not comfortable. If they play most of the game the way they played the second-half last week, we could be in trouble," he said.

"It's a long way from being over. We just need to figure out how we're going to stop them from wedging the door open."