An inaccurate Carlton easily downed an inept Port Adelaide by 66 points to keep their AFL finals hopes alive at Telstra Dome.

The Blues were able to do what they liked from the start of the match against a Power side that appeared to be lacking confidence, direction and skill.

It was only some occasional sloppy play from the Blues, most notably their kicking for goal, that prevented them cantering to a much bigger win than the 18.24 (132) to 9.12 (66) victory they ended up with.

While the lack of opposition pressure made it difficult to gauge Carlton's form, there were still plenty of positives for them to take from the game, along with the vital four points.

Youngster Bryce Gibbs was sensational in the midfield, setting up the game for his side in the first half.

By half-time he had notched seven clearances, as many as the entire Power team to that point, and was a major factor in the huge amount of supply that was given to the Carlton forwards.

He had plenty of support with Blues captain Chris Judd again superb, while Marc Murphy and Andrew Carrazzo also contributed to the midfield dominance.

The Blues would also have been buoyed by the performance of Andrew Walker at half-forward.

Playing his fourth game for the year after pre-season shoulder injury, Walker kicked three goals and was a constant threat.

It was a positive sign for Carlton that they were able to win comfortably without a huge contribution from Brendan Fevola, the spearhead finishing with 4.4, including two goals in the last term.

The Blues had 11 goal-kickers in all, but just as important was their defensive pressure across the ground, with the Power struggling to move the ball into attack.

Numerous times, Port players were caught holding the ball because they were lacking a free target to kick to.

Ruckman Dean Brogan was probably the Power's best player, having the best of the hit-outs and also putting in a solid effort around the ground.

The Burgoyne brothers, Shaun and Peter, were serviceable, while David Rodan attempted to add some badly needed dash and creativity and key forward Damon White kicked three second-half goals.

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