CARLTON defender Jordan Russell said he was shattered after his crucial fourth-quarter shot on goal was touched off the boot in Saturday night's seven-point loss to Fremantle on the Gold Coast.

With just minutes remaining and the momentum with the Blues, Russell was the beneficiary of a 50m penalty that took him to within goalkicking range.

Just when it appeared his shot from the arc had sailed through and dragged the Blues back to within three, it was signalled otherwise.

Teammate Aaron Joseph kicked one more behind, but it was Carlton’s last real chance to get within a kick.

"It wasn’t as dramatic as (Brendan) Fevola last week but it felt like it to me," Russell said on Sunday morning.

"It’s been playing havoc in my mind. But as the coaches have told me, it's one incident out of hundreds in a match that you can look back on.

"I kicked it into the man on the mark and it still went 50m so I was pretty shattered."

However, Russell's mishap was one of many on a night where Carlton failed to make the most of its opportunities.

The Blues kicked five straight behinds to start the third quarter and had all the momentum during the final term but could not apply scoreboard pressure on desperate Fremantle.

But Russell said the loss, which leaves the Blues at 3-4 after seven rounds, was far from panic stations.

"They’d won the derby last week and had also beaten Sydney and we’d lost to them a few weeks ago. We knew they were building form so we didn’t take them lightly at all," he said.

"Last night was a good opportunity to get back to the top three or four so it was disappointing, but there’s no need to panic.

"We’ve lost by four, four, seven and 17 points, so we’re around the mark and just have to get our nose in front in those matches and get on the right side of the scale."

Russell agreed with his coach Brett Ratten, who said the Blues were too 'handball happy' and overused possession in the greasy conditions.

He said they would have to address the issue ahead of next Sunday's blockbuster against Collingwood.

"We just didn’t get that run on and kick three or four goals in a row like we have in the past so it was frustrating," he said.

"But we’ll have an eight-day break now and Collingwood will have a six-day turnaround so we’ll be right to go next weekend."