Carlton coach Brendon Bolton was defiant in his message that resting the club's best players and exposing a host of youngsters in Saturday's massive pre-season loss to St Kilda would deliver greater long-term benefit to the club.

The Blues went into their second JLT Community Series match against the Saints without Marc Murphy, Bruce Gibbs, Kade Simpson, Matthew Kreuzer, Sam Docherty, Levi Casboult and even youngster Jack Silvagni.

A spectacular mark from Carlton's Liam Jones was a highlight for the Blues. Credit:Getty Images

They were blitzed on the inside-50 count and managed just two goals from late in the final quarter until midway through the last quarter as the Saints, also missing some important players, took full advantage to win 0.8.14 (122) to 0.4.6 (30).

Bolton said the huge defeat would not sway him away from his priorities for his young Carlton list which has been vastly overhauled since he was appointed coach ahead of the 2016 season.