Having gone into the match undefeated in eight games, Thompson said the Cats emerged as just another contender with plenty of work in front of them.
"I think it’s a good thing, in some ways, that people don’t think that we are unbeatable," he said.
"I think we have been beaten, the whole world has seen it and we’re just back in the pack and we’ve just go to go down and work hard to try and win games of footy.
"That, from a coaching point of view, is a very good thing."
Thompson agreed when asked whether the loss was a reality check.
"Yeah, I think it would be," he said. "It would have to be because it hasn’t happened to them for so long.
"It’s got to be like, 'Hang on a sec, this really happened and we aren’t as good as everybody talks about us being, and we’ve got a lot of work to do if we are to remain on top of the competition.'
"We’ll never ever have another year like we did last year, maybe a team never will.
"We certainly don’t expect to play like we did last year and other teams have got better.
"That’s the challenge of 2008. It’s a new season and that’s the way I look at it."
While not offering excuses, Thompson suggested a combination of six-day breaks, wet grounds and training load conspired to hand the Cats their greatest losing margin since round 13, 2006.
With an eight-day break ahead of the clash with Carlton at Telstra Dome on Saturday night, Thompson said the team would not be given the rest it probably needs.
"We’re not going to freshen them up too much because you still have to train otherwise you de-condition," he said. "We’ve got eight days [break] so it’s a perfect opportunity to train."
Demolished 85-49 in the tackle count by a hungry Collingwood, the Cats now face a side that leads the league in tackles.
Thompson added ruckman Brad Ottens would make his first appearance of the season after finally overcoming a foot tendon injury.
"The fact is he’s trained for another week and hasn’t got injured," he said. "He’ll join main training tomorrow with the group and do a limited bit of training on Friday and then play.
"Just for him to get back into form, it’s going to be at least a month."
Defender Josh Hunt, who injured a shoulder last week, is expected to play against the Blues while half-forward Paul Chapman will be assessed in the coming days.
However, he is rated only a 50-50 chance after withdrawing from the Magpies match with hamstring tightness.
And Thompson said utility player Max Rooke would come under strong consideration given his record tagging Carlton skipper Chris Judd.
The Blues have won four of their past six matches and sit just outside eight, yet the coach was confident his team would bounce back and echoed the sentiment for young defender Harry Taylor – one of many Cats to struggle against the Pies.
"He’s made of the right stuff and he will bounce back and it won’t affect him one bit," Thompson said.
"I’m very, very confident about that."
