The result became evident early, so it was death by a thousand cuts for Brisbane, as Carlton cemented their AFL top four spot with a 61-point thumping at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The Blues took control from the opening bounce, applied suffocating pressure all around the ground, backed it up with some electric ball movement and ran out 19.10 (124) to 9.9 (63) winners.

Blues' forward Andrew Walker kicked five goals, while midfielders Marc Murphy, Chris Judd and Kade Simpson shone.

Carlton, who leap into third place after the most clinical and comfortable of wins, have again staked their finals credentials with their sixth victory in their past seven games.

Their only loss in that period had been to undefeated Geelong, while their only other defeat this season was to second-placed Collingwood.

Murphy and Judd drove Sunday's victory, extracting plenty of contested ball and using it superbly.

Simpson and Mitch Robinson added spark in the Blues' engine room, while defender Michael Jamison was also outstanding.

He locked down dangerous Brisbane forward Jonathan Brown, restricting him to five touches and a goal, before Jamison was substituted at three-quarter time.

It was Brisbane's ninth loss in 11 matches this season.

Lions' coach Michael Voss admitted there was a harsh lesson for his side to absorb from what the Blues dished out.

"It probably taught us where we need to be able to end up, and what we need to be able to generate come the end of the season," Voss said of his rebuilding side.

"I couldn't fault our approach at the contest. The backhander is when the ball left the area, we didn't get it."

After a solid start, the Blues put the pedal down in the second term to lead by 33 points at halftime.

Then they poured on six unanswered goals from just before halftime until the 27-minute mark of the third term, stretching the lead to 61 points by the final change.

The Lions were only able to manage four goals in the first three quarters, although Brown booted two early in the final term - relishing Jamison's absence - to finish with three for the match.

But the conclusion was inevitable, and Walker iced the game for Carlton with a massive mark, before kicking his fifth goal midway through the final quarter.

The only dampener for the Blues was Robinson facing match review panel scrutiny for two high hits - one in the second term on Jack Redden and another late in the game as he crashed over the top of Simon Black.

Ratten was pleased with his side's building depth, including the successful return of ruck-forward Matthew Kreuzer from 12 months out with a knee injury.

"He was a little bit slow at the start, but he'll only get better," Ratten said.

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