BUILDING. That’s what typifies Caleb Marchbank’s last month.

After having his pre-season delayed by injury, the frustration would’ve been growing for the emerging young defender. 

Having missed 10 games in the middle portion of last year, the start to his 2019 was delayed by a back complaint. 

However, having played the last month uninterrupted, the key tall can start to develop a strong run of form. 

And his last four weeks as part of a miserly defensive unit has been a promising start. 

“We’ve grown a lot as a group over the pre-season and in the first few rounds, it’s a credit to Dale Amos,” Marchbank said on SEN.

“We’ve done a lot of work with him to jell and work together. It’s working pretty well for us at the moment.”

In the last month, Marchbank has been a prominent part of Carlton’s back six which has consistently stood up.

Yet to concede 100 points so far this season, a strong defence has been a positive for the Blues this season. 

However, with only one win to show from the opening six games, Marchbank is under no illusions of what needs to come next.

“We put up a fight [on the weekend], but we’re here to win games,” he said.

“We’ve shown a lot, but we need to work out ways to come away with the chocolates. There’s been a couple of close games, there’s a lot of time for us to learn.”

The 22-year-old took a significant step in his comeback, having played 92 percent of game time after averaging 78 percent in his first three games of the year.

With Nic Newman and Kade Simpson on the sidelines for the next few weeks, the job gets bigger for Marchbank and his counterparts this Sunday.

After showing plenty of positive signs in the first half last week, Marchbank said it was about backing it up and doing it for longer.

“Our belief is strong,” he said.

“We won the clearances, it’s a credit to our midfield group: they were fantastic all day. We completed plays in the first half, our ball movement was a real highlight.”