WHEN Carlton needed flexibility and a forward spark, it found it in the form of Matthew Kennedy and Will Setterfield.

For the fourth straight game under David Teague, the Blues were left to stage a late fightback, but ultimately fell agonisingly short against the Demons.

Trailing by 38 points at one stage in the third term, the Blues swung the changes, which saw Setterfield join fellow inside midfielder Kennedy inside the forward half.

The result was five goals between them, and a competitive edge which saw Carlton roar to life at the MCG.

Setterfield kicked three goals from five scoring shots after the 20-minute mark of the third quarter, while Kennedy kicked multiple goals for the second straight week.

WATCH: Setterfield's best against Melbourne

“I thought both of those guys played their roles,” Teague said post-match.

“We wanted some guys down there who could really compete, because early in the game we were getting it down there but getting outworked.”

“We threw ’Setters’ forward, it probably wasn’t something that was planned but Kennedy we had planned.”

Despite having 13 disposals - his second-lowest tally as a Blue - it was arguably Setterfield’s most impactful performance at his new club. The 21-year-old has now played 11 games for Carlton after arriving on the back of an ACL injury last year.

Similarly, Kennedy has proven himself to be a dangerous prospect in attack, with polish in front of goal (2.4) only denying him of a bigger performance.

Setterfield drew scores level with what proved to be Carlton’s last goal of the game, while Kennedy’s subsequent rushed behind briefly gave the hosts the lead and made Bluebaggers dare to dream.

“[Kennedy] is a beautiful mark and he played a fair bit of senior footy in the country as a centre-half-forward: he was strong,” Teague said.

“I thought when Setterfield went down there, he really competed.”

However, Teague and the Blues were left to lament another slow start, which resulted in a single-digit losing margin for the second time in three games.

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Teague said the onus was on the collective to ensure it was ready to bring the heat from the outset.

“We need flexibility, because the game throws challenges at you and we need to be able to react to them,” Teague said.

“Ideally, we start throwing challenges at the opposition earlier, instead of us reaction to them.

“Part of me loved their character, their fight, their resilience, the determination.

“But another half of me was going ‘we need to start turning up to be the aggressors from the word go’. We have to make the challenges for the opposition.”