CARLTON may have knocked off high fliers Geelong and St Kilda over the last three weeks but it is the heavy loss against Collingwood sandwiched in between that is occupying coach Brett Ratten's thoughts.

That game exposed some flaws in the Blues' approach according to Ratten who is demanding greater consistency of effort from his players ahead of Sunday's clash against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium

"We've seen in three weeks how much we can vary from one extreme to the other so that's something that is a constant challenge for the group and the coaching staff," Ratten said from Visy Park on Wednesday.

"I wouldn't say there was complacency [against Collingwood] because I think they're playing some outstanding football … but I thought we just had some aspects of our game that we hadn't seen for a while especially in 2010.

"We rewound the clock a little bit with some of the attitude or some of the approaches of players. There were some things there that I didn't really like."

Ratten said Port Adelaide would be an important test for his side, especially with the Power sixth on the ladder and Carlton just behind in seventh.

"The Port Adelaide game will be a big one," Ratten said. "You have to really respect how they're going about their wins.

"I think they've won three games by under 10 points so I'd say the encounter will be a very close one.

"They had the Geelong game that got away but they're fighting and scrapping and playing some good footy."

No player has encapsulated Ratten's point about consistency more than Jeff Garlett who has starred at times and been anonymous in others.

Ratten pointed out that Garlett shone against Geelong and St Kilda but only managed one possession in three quarters against Collingwood.

"The ability of those young players to stand up and play consistent footy, just like the team, is really important," Ratten said.

"Is it about goals for Jeff? No. It's about his pressure as well and I thought that was really good last week."

Important defender Paul Bower was a late withdrawal last week and appears likely to remain sidelined with a quad injury, while Brock McLean will need to prove he is over a hip complaint at Thursday's main training session.

Ratten mentioned onballers Shaun Grigg and Richard Hadley as possible inclusions in a line-up he will not be afraid to tinker with despite the big win over the Saints.