NAB Cup Rd 2: Photo Gallery

CARLTON coach Brett Ratten says the football community shouldn't take any note of Hawthorn's NAB Cup quarter-final exit, as he believes the Hawks will still be one of the teams to beat in 2009.

Although the Hawks led by five goals in the first half, the Blues bounced back to record a 24-point victory at Telstra Dome on Sunday evening and Ratten said Hawthorn's loss should be taken in context.

"I think they're going to be a force to be reckoned with," he said post-match.

"If maybe those players were in the team, we might not have got back to under the five goals head start that we gave them.

"I think we've got to give credit to our players for fighting back and winning the game, but when you look at that – it's fairly daunting to think that 'Buddy', Hodge and Lewis …  are to come back.

"Dew has been a good player for them too, so they've got some really encouraging signs and maybe watch out for other teams."

Ratten said his side was caught "flat-footed" early in the match, which was a reason for Carlton's slow start.

"We sort of gave 'Might and Power' a six lengths head-start," he said.

"When you go into a game it's 50/50 and when you're close to five goals down, the pendulum starts to swing in their favour … It was a credit to our blokes to chip back.

Ratten also said he understood why Hawthorn rested six-goal star Jarryd Roughead at the 10-minute mark of the final quarter, despite the Hawks being down by just 10 points.

"The Hawks need to be congratulated. It's a tough thing to do when you're right in the game and it's close and you just stick to what you're doing and your plans," he said.

"Like most things, when you've got a plan, there is usually success there, so they're probably not looking at next week or the week after. They're probably looking at round one – very similar to us."