Bring in the kids: that’s what Mick Malthouse keeps hearing. But Carlton’s senior coach maintains his philosophy is to treat every player on merit.

Carlton made eight changes ahead of Saturday’s game against Greater Western Sydney. Some of the side’s younger players including Blaine Boekhorst and Mark Whiley were among those who lined up with the Northern Blues.

In his weekly message to Carlton members, Malthouse said while it’s important to blood fresh talent, it’s equally important to strike the right balance and have the best 22 run down the race.

Malthouse says his priority for Carlton’s younger players is to try and teach them the right way to go about their football.

“We’ll continue to promote our kids, but we’ll also continue to develop them as best we can before we bring them in and expose them to these sorts of games,” Malthouse said.

The Giants toppled Carlton by 78 points. It was a match where positives were hard to find, but the coach named a few players who stood out for their efforts.

“I thought Jason Tutt was impressive enough in our side and Zach Tuohy again contributed very well off the half back line,” he said.

“Cameron Wood worked as hard as he possibly could and was overwhelmed in the end by Mumford, who I regard as one of the top ruckmen in the competition.”

Looking ahead to this week and Carlton has a six-day turnaround before taking on Geelong on Friday night at Etihad Stadium. Malthouse says his team will make the most of the time to regroup and refocus.

“We’ve got six days to get ourselves in order, in many respects you say it’s not enough time, but we would rather get out there and see what we can do to redeem our performances,” he said.

“We owe you guys (supporters) so much, so we’re looking for people to stick with us … supporters by definition support you through thick and thin.

“Things haven’t worked out anywhere near good enough but we will continue to keep trying."