The coach on Thursday was at pains to point out that winning finals is the only true measure of a team, but this year's resurgent defence at least has Ratten confident his current group is on the right path to emulating the successful teams of the club's past.
"When people look at Carlton, they look at the swagger or that type of thing, but I think it's more about our attitude and our hardness," Ratten said from Visy Park.
"I think when you reflect a bit [maybe people] have looked at Carlton as a flair team, but I think our great success at our football club has been [built on] our defence.
"It's been a long time since we've been in finals and won them, but reflecting back to 1995 when I was part of that [premiership] team you look at Stephen Silvagni, Peter Dean, Michael Sexton and Andrew McKay; they were just ruthless and hard. That was where our Carlton spirit came from.
"[This year we have] a fit Michael Jamison raring to go, Bret Thornton's form has turned around, then you add Chris Yarran's flair back there which has been brilliant … then you add Nick Duigan, Jeremy Laidler and Simon White who have played back there and their hardness has been outstanding."
Ratten said the Blues still have a lot of work to do this season, despite recording nine wins from 12 games, and don't yet deserve to be considered a genuine threat to premiership favourites Collingwood and Geelong, having been beaten by both this campaign.
Carlton's stocks have risen in the eyes of many after last weekend's clinical disposal of former bogey team the Sydney Swans and Ratten said a similar effort against West Coast this Sunday would be a good indication of his team's improvement this year.
"West Coast have been in really good form," he said.
"How they play and structure up is a little bit different to other teams with their really big forward line. When you think of their forwards as being marking types they also keep the ball in their forward 50 and put on great pressure [at ground level].
"Getting Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr back full fit really helps. They've just been enormous for them around the ball."
Duigan (calf) and Shaun Hampson (posterior cruciate ligament) drop out of the team that defeated the Swans by 34 points with Robbie Warnock the obvious choice to replace the ruckman.
David Ellard suffered a concussion during that game, but has been passed fit by the club's medical staff.
Ratten was delighted by the form of Matthew Kreuzer in his second game back from a knee reconstruction and is confident the 22-year-old ruckman, with Warnock's help, is capable of taking on imposing Eagles' ruck tandem Cox and Nic Naitanui.
