CARLTON is sitting at 3-0 for the first time since it went on to be runaway premiers in 1995, but coach Brett Ratten says his side's flying start to the season is hardly a cause for the Blues to get ahead of themselves.

Carlton thrashed traditional rivals and reigning grand finalists Collingwood by 10 goals on Friday night, but Ratten was quick to put the win into perspective.

"It's only round three. There's a lot of footy to be played and people can get carried away with things," Ratten said.

"We don't want to be getting fat heads or anything like that; we want to make sure we stick to the task. It will be really important, and this group will be outstanding in making sure we stay focused on what we have ahead of us."

While conscious of keeping the proverbial lid on the growing expectations of the Carlton faithful, Ratten did acknowledge the clinical manner in which his team's midfield beat Collingwood's.

"From the team's point of view, I thought it was an eight out of 10. Our pressure was fantastic and we really dominated the stoppages to win by plus-20 by the end of the game," he said.

"We allowed our forwards to get into the game and gave them great opportunity. I thought it was brilliant from that point of view, but there were areas we still need to improve on. We're probably lucky we got them on a six-day turnaround, and then they lost players as well."

The Magpies were forced to play without Ben Reid and Luke Ball for much of the night after the duo suffered game-ending injuries in the first half.

Ratten admitted the Pies' injury woes gave his team a distinct advantage.

"You don't like to see players go down. We thought if we could keep running the game out we could get an advantage that way," he said.

The Blues take on another traditional rival, Essendon, next Saturday afternoon.