The joy and relief felt by fans and players alike was obvious as the Carlton song reverberated around Telstra Dome and again with equal gusto in the change rooms after their AFL win over Richmond.

The convincing 22.9 (141) to 16.10 (106) victory failed to lift the Blues off the bottom of the ladder, but after 11 consecutive losses, that was not going to overshadow the rare triumph.

"A win feels a hell of a lot better when you haven't had one for 12 weeks, I can tell you," coach Denis Pagan said.

It was easily the Blues' most convincing performance, with their only previous points coming from a four-point win over Essendon in round two, a hard-fought draw with Port Adelaide in round four and a one-goal win over the Hawks in round six.

"I'm really pleased for the players who have tried so hard and copped it on the chin," Pagan said.

"They've been ridiculed and lambasted somewhat, I'm pleased for them."

The drought-breaking victory came in emphatic style, against a team which had a top eight berth to play for.

The Blues had a near-perfect start to the game, kicking seven goals straight in a stunning opening term to lead by 19 points at the first change, then pulled further away in the next two quarters before cruising home.

As Richmond coach Terry Wallace conceded, the Tigers made a fatal mistake in letting the success-starved Blues get an early whiff of victory.

"We allowed them to get a little bit of momentum and all of a sudden get to a position where they went 'hang on, this could be our day' and it's very difficult to turn around," Wallace said.

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