CARLTON coach Brendon Bolton says progress is being made at Ikon Park despite wins being harder to come by the longer the season goes for the second straight year.

The Blues fell 56 points behind the bottom-placed Brisbane Lions last week at the Gabba before a second-half fightback restored some scoreboard respectability.

Bolton is promising a "determined" Carlton outfit against Geelong on Saturday in reaction to the last-start effort as the club bids to snap a five-match losing streak. The Blues have also not scored 100 points in a match since round 11 last year.

Carlton is still two victories short of matching last year's seven-win tally, and is on the way to having another barren second half of the season, after winning just one of its last 11 matches in 2016.

The match-up with the second-placed Cats makes the Blues' task of changing that more difficult, although they upset Chris Scott's men by 19 points last season.

"I would have thought on the win-loss ratio, there was not the results in the back half of last year and also this year, but we've been in games up to our teeth," Bolton told reporters.

"We'd like to win more games, but we don't think we've fallen away ridiculously – it's just the games are very close in margin.

"The first half was disappointing (last week), but the second half showed how strong of character our players are, and I think you'll see a pretty determined Carlton this week."

Caleb Marchbank, one of five Blues nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star award, returns after three weeks out with a shoulder injury, along with fellow defender Simon White.

Key forward Harry McKay, a top-10 pick in the 2015 NAB AFL Draft, will also play his second game after a promising debut a week ago. But Bolton did not guarantee McKay an extended run in the senior side, saying his form would dictate that.

"He got some really good looks at goal. I think he kicked 1.2 (and missed) a couple of set shots that were very gettable," Bolton said of McKay.

"He was in some aerial contests close to goal where, in time, when he learns the craft, he'll mark those, so I think he can see there was goal-scoring opportunities for him, but he's still learning the fundamentals.

"We've got to be patient, because he's only in his second game."

Carlton also announced a new five-year major partnership with Hyundai, which has already been in association with the Navy Blues for the past 16 seasons.

The latest deal was important, given the one with this year's co-major sponsor CareerOne will not continue.

"CareerOne has been a sponsor for the club for three years and we appreciate the support they gave us during that time," Carlton president Mark LoGiudice said.

"But, moving forward, this (Hyundai deal) is a real endorsement on the direction of the football club and the partnership we have together and it will really strengthen our financial position."