Carlton fear the AFL season is over for their No.1 ruckman Matthew Kreuzer after he went down with a knee injury in Saturday night's nine-point loss to Fremantle at Etihad Stadium.

Despite losing the young star 15 minutes into the match and trailing by 33 points early in the last quarter, the Blues showed spirit to mount a late charge before the Dockers held on to win 14.12 (96) to 12.15 (87).

It solidified Fremantle's top four place, breaking a two-game losing streak and putting a two-win gap between themselves and the Blues.

First-year midfielder Michael Barlow continued his impressive season, mixing 30 disposals with four goals - one in every quarter - to be a key player in the Fremantle win.

Just as important was the giant figure of Aaron Sandilands, who took advantage of the Blues' early loss of Kreuzer to dominate the ruck battles, giving Carlton a handicap they were unable to overcome despite a fine midfield game from skipper Chris Judd.

The Blues suffered a major blow pre-game, with midfielder Marc Murphy a late withdrawal, replaced by defender Dennis Armfield.

But things quickly got worse, Kreuzer taken to hospital for scans after his left knee buckled under him in a marking contest 15 minutes into the match.

While Blues coach Brett Ratten said they could not be certain until Sunday of the extent of the damage after further scans, it is likely Kreuzer has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, ending his season.

"It will be all scanned, the whole lot, so we'll find out tomorrow, (but) it probably doesn't look too good," Ratten said.

But he said the former No.1 draft pick had the mental fortitude to bounce back strongly if the injury was as bad as suspected.

Carlton were also hurt by inaccuracy, kicking 2.12 to Fremantle's 7.4 in the first half.

A 20-minute burst of five goals to one behind during the second quarter established a 32-point lead for the Dockers, from which point they were always on top.

Sandilands' dominance was particularly telling during that patch when Kreuzer's ruck partner Sam Jacobs had a stint resting on the bench.

The Blues steadied late in the first half and, helped by two fine third-quarter goals to Jeff Garlett, were within 26 points at the last change.

A Barlow snap early in the final quarter appeared to kill off Carlton's hopes, but they stormed back to within eight points, with the help of four last-term goals to forward pocket Eddie Betts, but Fremantle showed enough composure to ice the win.

Dockers coach Mark Harvey said his side had not been known in the past for grinding out wins on the road under pressure, but were growing in resilience.

"Whenever you travel and have a six-day break (opposition comebacks are) always going to be an issue," Harvey said.

"Some of our guys are getting pretty resilient when we have to come at teams from behind ... but more importantly when we get in front and get challenged we still find something.

"We're starting to see our younger players take the game on when it's pretty crucial."

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