New coach Simon Goodwin is giving Jack Watts no guarantees about a recall after Melbourne continued their impressive AFL pre-season at Carlton's expense.
The Demons belted Carlton by 54 points on Saturday at Casey Fields, 0.17.14 (116) to 0.9.8 (62).
Adding to a tough opening pre-season hitout, the Blues lost ruckman Daniel Gorringe with an achilles injury.
TV footage showed Gorringe in the changerooms afterwards, repeatedly punching a table in frustration and then holding his head in his hands.
By contrast, Melbourne have started the pre-season with a flourish after last week's six-point win over reigning premiers the Western Bulldogs.
The last time they played at Casey Fields in the pre-season three years ago, Hawthorn mauled them by 110 points.
Much of the focus ahead of this match was on Watts, who was also left out of the AFL team last weekend.
Goodwin is confident Watts will return a better player, but would not say when that might be.
"What I do know with Jack is when we do get Jack back in the team we're going to have a really good player," Goodwin said.
"He's certainly trained to a higher level over the last two to three weeks and he'll just have to be ready when that opportunity arises."
Goodwin added Watts trained well earlier on Saturday.
The Demons will have some hard sessions through the week ahead of their final pre-season game against West Coast.
Melbourne's strong pre-season form is heightening expectations about their round-one match against St Kilda, with the two teams aiming to break into the top eight.
"We're starting to see a brand emerge - some of the team-first acts today I thought were outstanding," Goodwin said.
"Our competitiveness around the ball was on show again, so it was a building point from last week.
"We understand it was Carlton's first hit-out as well, so we're probably one week ahead in terms of that stuff."
Kym LeBois made an immediate impact for the Blues, kicking a freakish goal in the first quarter from deep in a pocket on debut.
But that was a rare highlight for Carlton.
Coach Brendon Bolton said they had given opportunities to youngsters such as LeBois, as well as playing Jacob Weitering in attack.
"That's what the (pre-season) is about," Bolton said.
"We had some inconsistencies in the game, but it was a really good opportunity to try some different things.
"This is all about preparation for round one for us."
Christian Petracca starred for Melbourne with four goals, while ruckman Max Gawn and midfielder Jordan Lewis also impressed.
After unsuccessfully seeking a trade to Adelaide late last year, Carlton's Bryce Gibbs opened the year with a game-high 28 possessions.
And former Giant Caleb Marchbank impressed, taking eight marks.
But Gorringe, who only managed four games last year because of injury after moving from Gold Coast, looked like a player who knows he faces another long stint out of action.
"Let's hope and cross our fingers it's not too bad," Bolton said.
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