CARLTON coach Michael Voss hopes four weeks is enough time to get Mitch McGovern back up to speed for his side's finals campaign after the defender returned from a lengthy injury layoff on Sunday afternoon.
McGovern got through his first match since round two in the Blues' 36-point victory over GWS, showing he has overcome the hamstring issues that plagued him earlier in the year.
BLUES v GIANTS Full match coverage and stats
The 27-year-old took a heavy hit in a second-quarter marking contest but played out the game, finishing with 10 disposals and seven marks from 71 per cent game time.
McGovern's focus now is to develop chemistry with fellow tall defenders Jacob Weitering and Lewis Young as the Blues hunt a top-four spot.
"The time's going to be spent building that connection and those relationships," Voss said.
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"When one moves forward the other one's got to roll in behind, who takes who when, and that's just something he (McGovern) is going to have to take some time on.
"We'll use all those minutes that we possibly can to try and build that over the course of the next month."
Carlton (12-6) has just about confirmed their first finals appearance since 2013 and are within sight of the top-four.
It faces consecutive interstate trips for games against Adelaide and Brisbane, but have some concerns over star duo Sam Walsh (ankle) and Weitering (corked thigh).
Both players played out the match and were important contributors but will require further assessment.
"I'm hoping that whatever (injury-related) momentum we've had go against us is starting to turn the other way," Voss said.
"I'm not here to announce necessarily what he (Walsh) has done but we're hoping it's not too bad and that he'll be OK, both boys."
Walsh hurt his left ankle in a Callan Ward tackle and spent time in the change room but returned to raucous applause from Blues fans, finishing with 31 disposals.
"I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him come back up on the sidelines," Voss said.
GWS coach Mark McVeigh said he was impressed with his side's energy, pressure and effort in the first half, but the undermanned Giants just couldn't keep up with the Blues' intensity as the game wore on.
He was particularly happy with Toby Greene's outing, who showed flashes of brilliance and kicked two second-quarter goals, finishing with 3.2 from 15 disposals.
He also regularly riled Carlton players, particularly so with a late spoiling attempt on Lochie O'Brien in the dying stages.
"He gave everyone in Melbourne (an example) of what we love about him," McVeigh said.
"He took a huge grab, got in the face of players, pressured and did everything we ask of him in the right way."
McVeigh said important quartet Josh Kelly, Lachie Whitfield, Jesse Hogan and Tom Green are all chances to return in Saturday's derby against Sydney.
