Carlton’s 33-point loss to Port Adelaide has exposed the Blues as badly needing match hardness after a disjointed AFL off-season.

After threatening to take the game away from the Power in the first term, Carlton steadily lost their advantage.

Port tore them apart in the final term with seven goals to one, a finish coach Mick Malthouse called very dismal.

“We couldn’t get out of our own way in he last quarter,” he added.

While stressing his players were physically fit, Malthouse said the problem was that too many had interrupted pre-seasons and lacked match conditioning.

“We just have to get some time into players that have not had the lead-up that other players have had,” he said.

“It’s not an excuse, it is simply that is the way it is.

“They are wiling, but their bodies have got to be hardened for match football.

“It was almost typical – the players that had been struggling and had interrupted pre-seasons really did struggle in the last quarter.”

A day after Malthouse said the Blues could be entering their premiership window, the Carlton coach said their sole focus now was preparing for the round-two blockbuster against Richmond.

Ruckman Matthew Kreuzer epitomised the challenge facing Carlton in the first few weeks of the season.

Malthouse said Kreuzer was jumped over in ruck contests by the end of Sunday night’s game.

He also noted the Carlton star was not running before Christmas because of off-season rehabilitation.

Another problem for Malthouse is defender Andrew Walker, who was reported in the last term for rough conduct when he threw Angus Monfries into the fence.

The match review panel will also scrutinise Walker’s crude challenge on Justin Westhoff in the second term, a blow that meant the Power forward had to briefly leave the field.

Apart from those two incidents, Walker also showed poor discipline several times during the match.

When asked about Walker’s game, Malthouse simply said: “I will have to look at that.”