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CARLTON coach Brett Ratten says the Blues’ recent good form is a result of the team developing, maturing and learning to play different brands of football.

The Blues beat Port Adelaide by 54 points at AAMI Stadium in round 20, after storming home with nine goals in the final quarter.

Ratten said that Carlton was building confidence in playing different styles of football, which had allowed it to match it with the competition’s best.

"I think we’re finding out about our group that you have to play a little bit different from week to week, you can’t always play pretty, beautiful, kick a hundred goals type scenarios,” he said after the game.

"In the last six to seven weeks we’ve played some different brands of football. We’ve had to roll our sleeves up sometimes and play tough, hard football, play one-on-one and things like that.

"Then some days you get to play with some freedom. That’s the pleasing aspect, and our group has matured a little bit from that point of view."

Ratten said that the team had figured out the key indicators that helped Carlton perform well, and that this clarity amongst the playing group had allowed the Blues to excel.

He explained that last year, the club’s ambition was to play finals, but the Blues only won 10 games.

However, the win on Sunday has cemented Carlton’s spot in the finals, but Ratten says that the focus is still on next week’s game against the Demons.

"We’ve probably cemented our finals position but we control our own destiny going forward,” he said.

"Is it tools down for us? Not at all. It’s just a start for us and we need to keep working extremely hard and see how season 2009 pans out and how far the journey goes.

"We’ll keep working on what we have to do, and not what the opposition has to do.”