THE WAY his players "owned their careers" after an intensive review of last Sunday's 109-point drubbing at the hands of Melbourne was a reaffirming moment for Carlton coach Brendon Bolton.

The Blues' response in the days after the demoralising loss and their performance against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night were always going to be closely scrutinised.

Bolton, who reportedly extended his contract until the end of 2020 during the week, thought his youthful squad passed the test they had in front of them.

GEELONG WINS UGLY Full match coverage and stats

"What I learned was that they wanted to own it," Bolton said.

"They didn't want me to go in and review the game. They came in and had a look at their tape individually last week. They didn't just look at it. They went and trained the things they needed to and in the review they wanted it done and dusted on the Monday.

"They looked at it, they challenged each other. In other words, they owned their careers and that's what I was so pleased about and today they owned their performances."

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A 28-point loss to Geelong was not the result Bolton was after, but at least the Blues didn't get blown off the park.

At four goals down after just 11 minutes in hostile territory against the Cats, the red flags would have been appearing all over the place in the Carlton coaching box. 

But Bolton said it was the club's leaders who stood tall and intervened to ensure another smashing wasn't on the cards.

"They jumped us on their home deck so to be able to respond was really important," he said.

"That's all about a young group maturing because it's easy to turn it up when you're on an opposition's deck so I was really proud of the response."

Bolton said moments like Patrick Kerr's first AFL goal from the boundary and top draft pick Paddy Dow's effort to lay a smother and then follow up with a tackle that led to David Cuningham's goal just before three-quarter time would have been pleasing for Blues supporters.

"We've never lost hope. We feel we're heading in the right direction," Bolton said. 

"There's lots to like but we're not satisfied with losing. A couple of defensive 50 stoppage goals against us hurt."

Bolton said his side's inaccuracy – the Blues booted 5.15 – proved costly.

WATCH Brendon Bolton's full post-match press conference

"There were plenty of opportunities to actually finish. They kicked 11.7, so there's the ball game," Bolton said. 

"We won the inside 50s (51-47), the tackles (75-71), so there were some opportunities to hit the scoreboard where we didn't." 

The Carlton coach was pleased with how his backline responded after the dismal loss to the Demons, in particular Lachie Plowman who was one of the Blues' best.

Former No.1 draft pick Jacob Weitering also returned to the lineup after a spell in the VFL. 

Bolton said Sam Kerridge (ankle) and Patrick Cripps (corked quad) were able to get through the game, but would be monitored carefully ahead of next Friday night's game against Sydney.