CARLTON has ended a 14-game losing run against Hawthorn and closed the door on the Hawks' season with a gutsy seven-point win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
The Blues produced some of the best and most disciplined football of their season to win their first game since round 13, lifting themselves out of contention for the wooden spoon with the 12.5 (77) to 10.10 (70) win.
Hawthorn's slim finals hopes were extinguished in the process, with a late surge in the final quarter falling short as the Blues beat their tormentors for the first time since 2005.
The win also came on the night the Blues celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1987 VFL premiership, with the Robert Walls coached team doing a lap of honour before the start of the match.
It was a spiteful clash from the start, with Jed Lamb and James Sicily involved in a number of skirmishes through the night as the Blues sought to shut down the young Hawks defender.
The tactic worked, with Lamb among Carlton's best players with 15 possessions and 2.2, while Sicily gave away seven free kicks and took just two marks in his defensive role.
Sam Docherty was awarded the David Parkin Medal after being judged best afield for his defensive effort with 31 and 15 marks, while Blues captain Marc Murphy was excellent in the midfield with 34 possessions, six clearances and four inside 50s.
The most pleasing aspect of the win for the Blues, however, would have been the impact of some of the young players who appeared to have been tiring as the season dragged to a close.
Charlie Curnow showed great signs in attack, flying to take contested marks and finishing with 22 possessions (14 contested). Jarrod Pickett was a livewire in attack with two goals, while Zac Fisher got the team going in the first quarter.
Ruckman Matthew Kreuzer had the slight edge on Hawthorn opponent Ben McEvoy in an entertaining battle, finishing with 29 hit-outs, five clearances and a goal.
The biggest positive for the Hawks was Jaeger O'Meara's drama-free return to the game after another season wiped out by injury, with the star recruit finishing with 17 possessions and five clearances.
Ball-magnet Tom Mitchell continued his record-breaking season with 44 possessions and 11 clearances, while Ryan Burton (23 possessions and a goal) gave the NAB AFL Rising Star judges more to think about.
Carlton played some of the best football of its season in the opening quarter, taking a feisty attitude into the contest and ruffling the Hawks' feathers on the way to a 21-point lead at quarter-time.
The circuit breaker Hawthorn needed came from an unlikely source in the opening minutes of the second quarter, with Will Langford marking 30m from goal and lining up for 17th set shot this season.
It was a big moment for the 25-year-old, who had kicked just one goal from 16 set shots coming into round 22, and every teammate on the ground ran to him after he converted to start a Hawthorn fightback.
O'Meara also started to work into the game around the stoppages after a quiet start, while Mitchell led the Hawks' fightback with 11 possessions as they went on a four-goals-to-one run.
That the Blues were able to weather that storm and rebuild their lead in the second half spoke volumes about their discipline under coach Brendon Bolton.
The Hawks threw everything they had at Carlton in the final quarter but couldn't break Bolton's defensive machine, with the Blues' sixth win of the season arguably their most encouraging.
CARLTON 4.4 6.4 10.4 12.5 (77)
HAWTHORN 1.1 5.7 8.8 10.10 (70)
GOALS
Carlton: Casboult 2, Gibbs, Wright, Thomas, , Fisher, Lamb, Pickett
Hawthorn: Puopolo 2, Langford, Breust, McEvoy, Roughead, Burton, Duryea, Smith
BEST
Carlton: Murphy, Kreuzer, Lamb, Curnow, Jones, Pickett, Docherty
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Gunston, McEvoy, Burgoyne, Burton, Smith
INJURIES
Carlton: TBC
Hawthorn: Liam Shiels (hip) replaced in the selected side by Conor Glass
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stephens, Fleer, McInerney
Official crowd: 35,799 at Etihad Stadium
