A victory in the face of adversity is worth more than just four points – and assistant coach Brad Green says that’s certainly the case for Carlton, after the Blues held their nerve to defeat Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday.

“They’re playing like they’re 18 again; they’re playing with enjoyment and with a bit of fun,” Green told SEN on Wednesday.

“Our tackling pressure and our style of play was up there with the best I’ve seen in the three years that I’ve been here.”

In their past three games the Blues have shown a fierce competitive spirit – a quality that they were criticised for lacking in the first half of the season.

Captain Marc Murphy is “leading by example” and young guns Patrick Cripps and Nick Graham are adding their fair share of tackles to the stats sheet.

“Nick Graham is your traditional country Gippsland Power boy,” Green said.

“He’s your backyard Kevin Sheedy plumber – he’s the guy that wants to get his hands dirty.

“He can play inside and he’s got the smarts to play as a high half-forward coming up – he’s a traditional old-style footballer.

“Cripps is one of those kids you look at in the coaches box and you go wow, how good’s this kid going to be?”

This Sunday, Carlton will be looking for back-to-back wins when they take on the Suns at Etihad Stadium.

The Gold Coast is coming off the bye and looks set to regain five or six key players including Ablett, Bennell, May, Thompson and Swallow.

“We’re going to be up against it – it’s going to be a big game to see how our boys respond off a win,” Green said.