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A loss to Carlton and his AFL club's depleted ruck stocks have given Sydney coach John Longmire nothing to celebrate after signing a contact extension.

Sydney coach John Longmire had no cause to celebrate his contract extension and was left pondering his shallow ruck stocks after a costly AFL loss to Carlton.

Longmire, who started coaching Sydney before the 2011 season, inked a new three-year deal on Friday which takes him through to the end of the 2023 campaign.

Never one to dwell on his own achievements, Longmire had a succinct reply when asked about his extension following a seven-point defeat to the Blues at the SCG.

"We lost, it's as simple as that," he said.

Longmire dismissed the suggestion speculation surrounding his mooted move to North Melbourne had ever been a distraction to him or diluted his players' focus.

"It didn't worry us, we've always been focused," he said.

Saturday's setback almost certainly means Sydney will miss the finals for the first time in Longmire's nine-season tenure.

But of more immediate concern for the 2012 premiership-winning coach is addressing his side's woes at the contest and their lack of specialist ruckmen

He acknowledged they were soundly beaten around the football, losing clearances and contested possessions by double-digit margins.

Carlton won the hitouts 55-20 with Matthew Kreuzer racking up 45, as Sydney's makeshift ruckmen Aliir Aliir and Sam Reid struggled to compete.

With Sam Naismaith and Callum Sinclair still recovering from injuries, Sydney were dealt a further blow this week, with Longmire revealing Darcy Cameron had reinjured his quadriceps and would be out for several weeks.

Longmire said Sydney would look at rookie list players Michael Knoll and Joel Amartey - who are yet to play a senior game - to fill the void.

Amartey, 18, was picked up in the 2018 rookie draft and 26-year-old Knoll was affiliated to SANFL club South Adelaide before Sydney chose him in the 2019 mid-season rookie draft.

"We've just got to play the hand that we're dealt and work through it," Longmire said.