There were Cats everywhere, but Carlton's Friday the 13th nightmare loss to Geelong had nothing to do with bad luck.

Instead it was a case of a premiership contender dishing out a 70-point lashing to a side amid a shocking slump, as Geelong notched its fifth straight win, 22.11 (143) to 10.13 (73).

Half-forward Gary Ablett led the Carlton defence on a merry dance and helped himself to four goals and best-afield honours, while second-gamer Cameron Thurley kicked four goals and Brad Ottens three.

The Cats, who kicked seven goals to one in the final quarter to romp home, are now second with successive games at Skilled Stadium (against the Kangaroos and Fremantle) to come.

At times Geelong's dominance through its midfield and across half-forward made the game look like training drills, aided by Ablett's frequent splashes of brilliance as he beat direct opponents Heath Scotland, Andrew Walker and Simon Wiggins.

A purple patch of four second-quarter goals to Carlton full-forward Brendan Fevola (five for the night) was the only thing Blues fans could cheer, as Denis Pagan's team served up another shocker six days after an 85-point loss to Richmond.

The Blues made a stream of mistakes, and other than the precise Ryan Houlihan, they constantly missed their targets by metres.

At times it was comical, and when Lance Whitnall charged out of defence, missed the ball and bowled over teammate Walker, Ablett was the one laughing most as he kicked an easy goal.

After conceding the first 12 goals to Richmond, Carlton conceded the first six to Geelong before Fevola dragged his side back by cutting the margin at half-time to 19 points from 39 earlier in the quarter.

Returning from a two-game suspension, Fevola - still the subject of contract speculation - started with four behinds, but then found his kicking range and had the better of both Matthew Scarlett and Tom Harley.

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