The pressure to perform never goes away at Carlton, even after a morale-boosting victory, Blues coach Michael Voss says.
After six-straight defeats - and eight in their previous nine - Carlton were finally able to notch up the win for which they had been desperately searching when they faced Gold Coast before the bye.
Storm clouds had been gathering around Ikon Park as a season that had begun full of promise descended into near-crisis.
But the 59-point thumping of the Suns on June 18 offered players, coaches and fans a badly needed period of positivity.
Following a week off, Carlton return to action against a young and dangerous Hawthorn side at the MCG on Sunday.
"I don't think it ever goes off, does it?," Voss said in response to a question about the pressure coming off.
"You're constantly reassessing where you're at and we've got a lot of work to do.
"It's nice to get, but at the same time we're realistic in where we are and the work that's ahead of us.
"We've still got facets of our game that we need to be able to consistently apply.
"We were able to do it against Gold Coast but that doesn't guarantee us anything coming into this game, so we have to get back into it pretty quick."
Carlton are hoping to break the concerning trend for teams coming off a bye.
Teams re-entering the action against opponents who were active the week before have a collective 0-8 record so far this season.
"Clearly we talk about it (the bye) but the thing that we have to control is just (to) make sure we get out here and train really well," Voss said.
"What we've probably noticed over those sides (coming off a bye) is the pressure over the course of the whole game has been a little bit down to what their normal standards would probably be.
"That's something just to be aware of."
Luckless defender Caleb Marchbank, who has been restricted to just four games in the last four seasons because of injury, is due to return in the VFL this weekend in a promising sign for the 26-year-old.
