A FURIOUS Brett Ratten says he is “close to the most embarrassed” he has been for his players, who he believes shirked contests and refused to put their bodies on the line until their game against Collingwood was lost.

Ratten saw reason to question Carlton’s hardness after it trailed in the contested ball count for the first three quarters of its 48-point defeat.

“They didn’t go hard enough. They might have gone and there might have been a pluck or a grab or an arm, but that’s to me pulling out,” he said.

“You get a choice. You get to put your body on the line and I don’t think today some of our blokes did when they had to.”

The Blues trailed the Pies by 60 points at three-quarter time and were facing their biggest defeat of the year before they fought back in the tight contests.

While a crackdown saw them win the final term on the scoreboard and restore some respectability to the margin, Ratten was still seething and held his players for a lengthy post-match review.

“The Carlton we know, from a supporters and club point of view, is about winning contested ball. When you have that deficiency throughout a game it’s quite embarrassing,” he said.

“It’s unacceptable. It’s amazing; when blokes put their body on the line and they go in, something happens.

“To see players pull out, not go in and miss tackles, it’s damning on our brand.

“Today, we were very, very average. When the contest was in or up for grabs, we were found wanting.”

Ratten said he had not been witness to a more disappointing performance during his time as Carlton coach.

“There's probably [been] stages where I've been frustrated, but just to watch for three quarters ... to not roll your sleeves up and fight not just for your own personal space but for your club,” he said.

“It was the arch enemy, big stage, as close to a finals atmosphere as you can get, and to deliver that was very embarrassing.”

He said the attitude of his side would force changes for next week’s massive game against Essendon.

He also didn’t rule out any mid-week punishment sessions for his players.

“At the moment, I think the evidence will be in our performance, which will be great,” he said.

“Friday night, the whole footy world, they can sit there and critique the individuals and the team. So will we.

“If it’s your turn to go, you go. That's what's expected at our footy club and we've seen a real fall off in the last month or so.

“If we don’t front up to it and face up to it, we'll get beaten again.”

Skipper Chris Judd didn’t finish the game but Ratten said a conservative approach was taken after he bruised his shoulder.