Fremantle are maintaining the belief they can compete against any team in the AFL despite a 'flattening' loss to Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.

Carlton’s 31-point win means they move into the top four just below the third-placed Fremantle, with Geelong set to move above both teams by the end of the round if they defeat Richmond later on Saturday.

Brodie said Fremantle were far from their best for significant periods against Carlton and that showed in the result.

“We still know that our best footy matches up against the best, there’s no doubt about that,” Brodie told 6PR.

“It’s just a matter of it being a tough competition, you have to bring it every week, every training, every quarter, and today we were off for probably three quarters and that was more than enough for us to get rolled.

“There’s definitely no hinders to our belief, but there’s obviously an overall consensus that we’ve got a lot of work to do and there’s a long part of the season left, so we’ve got to get to work.”

Despite Brodie’s best efforts with 36 disposals, 16 contested possessions and five clearances, Carlton dominated the midfield battle.

The Blues won the centre clearances by eight and the overall clearances by 12 on the way to a +21 inside 50 differential.

“We got done through the middle,” Brodie said.

“That put our backs under too much pressure. The game was on their terms for a vast majority of it, to be honest.

“We’re under no illusions we definitely got beaten today and we’ve got a lot of work to do that’s for sure.

“We’re pretty disappointed as a midfield group. We definitely got beaten there (in the centre clearances), that’s pretty flattening.”

Despite the result, the 10-4 Freo are set to finish the round in the top four and face Port Adelaide next Sunday at Optus Stadium as they push for a return to AFL finals. Tickets are on sale now.

Match report: Blues blow Freo away
Backs succumb to weight of numbers