Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps is happy to enjoy the ride rather than focus on the destination of playing AFL finals football.
For the first time since Cripps debuted in 2014 the Blues are in the top eight after seven rounds, banking five wins to sit sixth.
But the 27-year-old didn't want to think about playing in September just yet.
"I'm not thinking that far ahead yet," the star midfielder said on Tuesday.
"It's the best place we've been in since I've been here and it's been a lot of hard work over a lot of years to get to this point, but we feel like we're only scratching the surface of what we can do.
"We will find ways to keep getting better and as we keep improving I feel we'll be in a stronger position in the back half of the year."
Last round Carlton crushed hapless North Melbourne, in a game Cripps described as their "best four-quarter" performance of the year.
They won the "championship" third quarter for the first time this season, which Cripps said was a key improvement under new coach Michael Voss.
"I think it's just when you have a whole new set of coaches and your game plan, it's finding your identity as a team," he said.
"We're learning as we go what really works for us and the next stage is the consistency of that.
"We feel like we got a lot of improvement to go but I felt like on the weekend was probably our best four-quarter game."
Cripps didn't want to compare Voss and his previous coaches at the Blues but said the former Brisbane Lions champion had built self-belief amongst the players.
"His relationships with players has been unbelievable, in terms of building their confidence and I feel he's getting the most out of a lot of guys," he said.
Cripps underlined his status as the Brownlow Medal favourite with 35 disposals, including 10 clearances, against the Kangaroos.
With a clash looming with Adelaide on Sunday he said the midfield group around him was allowing him to play his best football.
"I can't speak high enough the guys around me, guys like Georgie (Hewett), Chez (Adam Cerra) come in, big bodies, they're hard contested players and guys like Matty Kennedy that are getting better as well.
"We feel like we've got a lot of depth."
