The Blues failed in their bid to topple the premiers at the MCG, but there was plenty to recommend them as a serious contender in 2011 despite the 28-point loss.
"After the game, we spoke about the fact that we wouldn't have lost any of the respect that we've been able to gain over the first two rounds of the season, but we wouldn't have gained any respect either," Russell said.
"They're the best in the competition, they've proven that, so we are measuring ourselves against the best in the comp, so we've come away disappointed and with a few areas to work on, which will be good for the team.
"There were a lot of positive areas. We out-tackled them, but they were harder at the ball. They had more contested footy than we did and that was a benchmark for us."
Carlton did what neither Port Adelaide nor North Melbourne was able to do and that was to put the Pies on the back foot early in the match.
The Blues led by a point at the first change, thanks largely to their ability to do to the Magpies what they've been doing to other teams for a while - put them under pressure in their back half with an effective forward press.
"Everyone's doing it now and it's the way to go if you want to try and save your legs by keeping the ball forward of centre," Russell said.
"As it goes into our forward line, we've got to rely on them to put some pressure on and lock it in and also rely on the mids to do their bit. If we defenders can get up the ground and press them, then we can cut it off.
"So we've got some positives to take out of that and we'll be confident next time we play them."
