Bottom-placed Carlton upset Melbourne and rocked the Demons' top four chances with a 12.8 (80) to 10.13 (73) AFL win at Telstra Dome.

It was a well-deserved victory by the Blues, who were in charge from the start.

They outscored the Demons in the first term and never surrendered the lead, although Melbourne fought back to within two points several times in the third and fourth quarters.

Remarkably, given it was the Blues' third win of the season, it was the second time they have beaten Melbourne, having won by 21 points at the same venue in round one.

While Melbourne did well in the midfield battles, with James McDonald and Matthew Bate good players, Carlton was on top at both ends of the ground.

Up forward, spearhead Brendan Fevola continued his consistent season with four goals to extend his buffer at the top of the AFL goal-kicking table.

He was well supported by Brad Fisher (three goals) and Jarrad Waite (two goals), who both provided good marking targets.

At the other end of the ground, no Demons forward was able to have much of an impact.

Skipper David Neitz's only two goals came in time-on in the third quarter, but otherwise he was very well held by Bret Thornton.

Russell Robertson was soundly beaten by the Blues' Andrew Walker, who not only kept Robertson to two behinds but was superb in setting up play from defence in an eye-catching performance.

Cory McGrath was similarly in charge against Adem Yze, while Andrew Carrazzo and Lance Whitnall were also excellent in defence for the Blues.

Melbourne, which put in a lacklustre performance in the first half, finally found the intensity and willingness to tackle hard in the third quarter that had been crucial to its success previously this season.

It enabled the Demons to climb back from 22 points down early in the quarter to within two points close to the last change and threaten to overtake the Blues.

But Carlton settled with a late goal to Ryan Houlihan to enter the final term still in control.

The two sides traded goals in a tight start to the last term, before Kade Simpson kicked the sealer 25 minutes into the final quarter to put his side up by 13 points.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP