'Embarrassing' Carlton must regroup

CARLTON coach Brett Ratten said the mental challenge of regrouping in the wake of Friday night’s 69-point loss to Essendon would be a huge test of character for his side.

Outscored 12 goals to two in the second half by the rampant Bombers, Ratten said the group collectively, and individually, was embarrassing.

“It’s a bitter pill for some of the individuals that had a poor night,” he said.

“That will test out our mental approach next week and how we bounce back. Sometimes you fall, but it’s how high you bounce back and I think for some of our blokes, that’s the opportunity.”

Ratten didn’t name names but those who had a quiet night included playmaker Nick Stevens, 100-game celebrant Kade Simpson, onballer Jordan Bannister and forwards Brendan Fevola and Brad Fisher.

Ratten offered no excuses for his side’s second-half capitulation.

“This was down to one-on-one and just purely beaten for the footy. The fight in the third quarter was pretty embarrassing,”  he said.

“We had an opportunity tonight and to let ourselves down and our supporters given that opportunity… we’ve got some hard work to do.

“They (Essendon) were up, they were hunting and they used the ball really well and made us pay.”

The Blues coach was non-committal on the impact of the Bombers’ leg speed, saying the side had prepared well to counter it.

“We spoke a lot about that pre-game because they are a very quick team and we thought we could slow them down,” he said.

“Sometimes if you don’t move the ball quickly in the back 50 then you play into their hands and they manned up very quickly and we played such slow footy.”

At 6-7, the Blues travel west next week to tackle Fremantle in what shapes as a season-defining match.

Ratten hoped the Friday night debacle was a one-off.

“The only shining light for us is that we haven’t had a defeat like that all year and it was a little bit out of character,” he said.

“We’re not putting this one away and saying forget about it because we’ll review it to the nth degree, but we need to talk to our players about what they can do well because we’re a better team than that.”

Paul Bower will have scans on his knee to determine the extent of a knee injury, but Ratten said he was unlikely to play next week.