CARLTON coach Brett Ratten says he’s “rapt” with his side’s opening NAB Cup win over Port Adelaide – but the Blues’ focus is very much on their round one clash with Richmond.

“I’m rapt with the victory, it was outstanding for us, but we’ve got to remember Port Adelaide had key players out,” Ratten said after the 15-point win at AAMI Stadium.

“When you play against virtually an under-25s team you say, ‘Have we improved’? Yes we have, but how far that is, time will tell.

“I think some of the players’ understanding of the game has improved, but we’ll have to wait and see until we get to the home and away to see the real growth.

“I think we’re heading in the right direction.

“Regardless of who we play or when we play we want to win. But we’ll manage our list to make sure round one is our focus. That has been our focus right through the pre-season.”

Ratten says young players like Shaun Hampson (two goals and a good display in the ruck), Paul Bower and former Adelaide Crow Darren Pfeiffer (18 possessions in his Carlton debut) provided good signs.

“We saw some of our young players really emerge – the Hampsons and the Bowers – and it was fantastic for our education from that point,” Ratten said.

“To bring 10 players over with around 10 games or less, it was great for the team.

“Darren’s an interesting one. Very hard at it, puts his head over the ball, wins a lot of the footy, and doesn’t shirk too many issues. His performance tonight – he was a real shining light for us.”

Just who will be in the Carlton line-up for that round one clash is still in question.

“That will take a bit of time,” Ratten said. “We had eight players on the interchange today. And then you’ve got Chris Judd, Richard Hadley, Cain Ackland and Andrew Walker sitting on the sidelines, they’ll come into the mix.”

But not next week for the clash against either Sydney or Hawthorn, with all four ruled out for at least another match.

The only injury concern for the Blues out of tonight’s match was a finger dislocation for Brad Fisher, which is being further assessed.