CARLTON coach Michael Voss says he's "very proud" of his side's resilience after they held on for a courageous win over St Kilda on Friday night.
The Saints were pushing hard in the final term against an injury-ravaged Carlton, who had just one fit player on the bench at half-time, but the Blues managed to hold sway to secure the 15-point victory in an emotional Spud's Game.
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With the Saints pressing late, Carlton spearhead Harry McKay was the hero as he calmly went back to slot the set shot from an acute angle on the boundary to ice the win.
"I'm very proud - it's been a long time since we've had a win like that," Voss said.
"It didn't have a lot of brilliance in it - it had some brilliant moments - but it largely took a grind.
"Get in the trenches, fight our way out of it, hang in for as long as we possibly could and wait for our moments."
The injury woes came everywhere for the Blues in the opening half.
First, Mitch McGovern came off second-best in a clash with Liam O'Connell in the opening term. He was subbed out of the game at quarter-time and taken to hospital for scans on a chest injury.
Winger Blake Acres went off with a shoulder injury early in the second term, then Lachie Cowan was forced out with hamstring tightness.
Nick Haynes, close to best afield in the first half, was left with a sore head after an accidental knock and Carlton ended the second term with only one available player on the bench.
Acres and Haynes were able to return after the main break, but Cowan was ruled out.
"When it was needed we had a group stand up," Voss said.
"The way it played out there for about 15 minutes at the end of the second quarter, we were sort of holding on because we had four or five guys that were either carrying something or were having something assessed to see if they could go back on.
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"Fortunately we were able to run out the game quite ok. There were a couple of moving pieces there for a while and we were inventing new defenders for a period of time.
"Lucky we had 'Youngy' (Lewis Young) on hand to go back and fill that role for us, and Cooper (Lord) was able to come into the midfield so 'Chez' (Adam Cerra) could go back and he played a really solid game.
Saints coach Ross Lyon said his team showed plenty of spirit, but said the way the game panned out for them was a "bit of a moving feast" that would need close analysis.
"We just couldn't get quite gain ascendancy ... it was just a few different things throughout the game and ultimately they were able to take opportunities a bit more easily," he said.
"We played a pretty good front-half game ... but we didn't get the efficiency. I thought our spirit was there on a pretty special night, and a challenging night.
"We've just got to keep building and we'll get better."
Saints livewire Jack Higgins was again brilliant before being subbed out at three-quarter time due to illness.
Higgins kicked an equal team-high two goals, taking his season tally to 23 goals - one goal behind Coleman Medal leader Ben King.
Lyon revealed Higgins almost didn't play after dealing with a calf issue during the week.
"He had a tough week, he almost didn't play," Lyon said
"He had a scan on his calf, he didn't train but then he was alright and then he was really quite unwell (during the game).
"We'll put our arms around him and try get him up for Perth."
St Kilda now has a nine-day break before playing West Coast at Optus Stadium, while the Blues face Sydney at the SCG next Friday night.
