Carlton's victory was far from clinical, but coach Brett Ratten reckons the Blues more than made up for that with poise when it really mattered.

The 11.19 (85) to 12.7 (79) AFL win over Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night was much tighter than necessary due to Carlton's woeful kicking for goal.

But after their previous 10 games were decided by single-figure margins and yielded just one win plus a draw - against Essendon in the last round - the Blues' ability to rebound after Adelaide hit the front for the first time in the final quarter was heartening.

"At the end of the day we take the four points and say we had to really fight and it's good growth for our group," Ratten said.

"It's good to get over the line. We've had a few close ones, we've probably lost those, so to the players it's a real pat on the back for their character to come back."

Classy late long goals to David Ellard and Jordan Russell set up the win, although a desperate tackle by substitute Aaron Joseph in the dying seconds to deny Adelaide a late forward surge was just as crucial.

Ratten said there were plenty of examples of players standing up in the closing minutes, with Andrew Walker (four goals) and Kade Simpson two others involved in telling passages of play, while captain Chris Judd and fellow midfielder Marc Murphy were outstanding throughout.

The coach was prepared to dismiss the poor kicking for most of the night, both in field play and in front of goal, as an aberration.

However, the fact that the Blues lacked a dominant marking target while the Crows had several, probably contributed to the difference in accuracy.

After key forward Lachie Henderson was dropped for the match, forward-ruckman Shaun Hampson provided little and must be under pressure to retain his spot.

Ratten said that although the Blues needed to persevere with Hampson as a developing player, he must contribute more.

The coach praised Walker who he said hadbeen stung when used as a substitute against the Bombers the previous weekend.

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