CARLTON defender Lachie Henderson has given credit to St Kilda for its aggressive play in Monday night's upset loss, but also admits the Blues must fight their way out of a flat spot in their own form.

Brett Ratten was unimpressed with several aspects of his side's effort against Greater Western Sydney two weeks ago, despite the eventual 67-point winning margin, with the uninspired performance against the Saints adding to the Blues' concerns.

"I think it's shown in the last two weeks that we have been a little bit flat," Henderson said from the team's beach recovery session on Tuesday.

"It definitely showed last night, so we've had two bad weeks and it's just how we come back from that now.

"We didn't use the ball well, they came out and pressured us really well and played some really good footy, so we've just got to get back to the basics I think.

"Their attack on the footy and their pressure was outstanding, that is part of the reason we used the ball so badly … they showed that they're a contender."

Carlton must attempt to regain its early season spark against one of the form sides of the competition in Brenton Sanderson's Adelaide, with the Crows coming off a morale-boosting win over Geelong and with the benefit of an extra two days of recovery time.

A common theme in the Blues' losses to Essendon and St Kilda has been the physical pressure exerted by the opposition, with Adelaide, which leads the league in contested possession and clearances, set to pose a stern test in that area.

"You can't really combat [that sort of pressure] - you've just got to try and meet it halfway," Henderson said.

"That's what we're going to have to bring and Adelaide will be the same thing this week - they're playing some really good pressure footy, so we'll have to meet them halfway."