With the Blues sitting fifth before tonight’s match - one game out of the top four - the Carlton coach could not hide his disappointment in his side's inability to defeat the Kangaroos.
North's victory was just its second win over a side currently in the top eight this season.
“It was one that got away. Full credit to North Melbourne - they had a big night, a Friday night game - and they delivered, so they outplayed us,” he said.
“They put their head over the ball and they won a lot of those defining moments, especially early in the game, to maybe put their signature on the game.”
The Blues were on the back foot right from the opening bounce, as North Melbourne jumped out of the blocks with four goals to one in the opening quarter.
Ratten said that burst stung the Blues, as they could not peg back the Kangaroos despite reducing the margin to just eight points late in the third term.
“I thought they were really on their game early and we were second to the ball,” he said.
“It was a combination of intensity and skills errors early on. We gave the ball back too easy and whether that diminished our confidence to run and spread and get involved; maybe it was a combination of both.”
“The errors early shot that confidence.”
The Carlton coach ruled out complacency in his players' approach, conceding the club knew what it was up against after North skipper Brent Harvey challenged the Blues to ‘bring it on’ during the week.
“The players were really prepared on how much motivation the Kangaroos had in celebrating 25 years of night footy, [with] all their players back and it being a big game for them. We spoke a fair bit about that,” he said.
The Blues will look to bounce back next week when they meet the in-form Fremantle at Etihad Stadium next Saturday. Ratten was confident the minor knocks picked up by Chris Judd, Mitch Robinson and Eddie Betts would not keep them out.
