GEELONG has kept its top-four hopes alive with a 12-point win over Carlton in an error-ridden affair at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Blues led until midway through the third quarter, but the Cats wore them down late in the match to run out 14.13 (95) to 11.19 (85) winners and improve their record to 7-4.
The result means Brett Ratten's team, which was premiership favourite after round three, falls to 6-5 and will slip out of the top eight if St Kilda beats Gold Coast on Saturday.
Still, Ratten was positive after the game.
"I thought it was a really big step for our group going forward, a really positive performance," he said.
"I thought we were a lot bolder with the football, we took the game on.
"It's a step in the right direction. It wasn't perfect, but there was a lot to like about it.
"To be honest, we're not looking at the end of the season. 'Are we in the eight? Are we out of the eight?' We're looking at each week."
With more than 47,000 people watching on, Chris Scott's men trailed for much of the opening half.
During that period their play was stagnant, and they often chipped the ball around the boundary line rather than showing their usual attacking flair through the corridor.
But the reigning premiers, who lost key forward James Podsiadly to a hip injury before the game, found their verve with a five-goal third quarter.
"We were confident that if the game went down to the wire that we'd still be running over the top of the ground," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.
"Admittedly, they had some chances late and they would feel they could've won the game.
"It was pretty scrappy footy for the most part. It was just good that we were able to scrap and scrape and get there in the end."
Speedy half-forward Steven Motlop kicked four goals for Geelong, while Joel Selwood (29 possessions and two goals) shook off a heavy tag from David Ellard to be particularly influential in the middle of the ground.
Mitch Duncan, who played on Carlton skipper Chris Judd for much of the night, was another impressive performer.
Duncan picked up 24 possessions and kicked two goals, while Judd gathered 25 touches and booted one major.
Steve Johnson (17 disposals but no goals) and Bryce Gibbs (11 touches and a goal) also had an entertaining battle in Geelong's forward line.
However, Cats defender Josh Hunt is set to come under scrutiny from the match review panel after appearing to deliberately step on Eddie Betts' hand during the first quarter.
The victory kept alive Geelong's record of having never lost to the Blues at Docklands in 10 matches.
Betts, who was picked up by either Josh Hunt or Cameron Guthrie for much of the game, booted four goals for Carlton, including a miraculous left-foot snap during the first quarter.
Kade Simpson was the Blues' leading possession-getter with 31, while full-back Michael Jamison kept Tom Hawkins relatively quiet.
Carlton, which kicked 2.9 in the final quarter, was left to rue the fact it hit the post five times, and it only gets tougher for the Blues next Thursday when they play West Coast at Patersons Stadium.
GEELONG 2.2 5.7 10.10 14.13 (97)
CARLTON 4.4 6.6 9.10 11.19 (85)
GOALS
Geelong: Motlop 4, Selwood 2, Duncan 2, Chapman, Bartel, T. Hunt, Hawkins, West, Stokes
Carlton: Betts 4, Tuohy, Collins, Armfield, Gibbs, Kreuzer, Simpson, Judd
BEST
Geelong: Selwood, Bartel, Duncan, Motlop, Corey, Chapman, T. Hunt, Scarlett
Carlton: Simpson, Betts, Judd, Warnock, Walker, Duigan, Collins
INJURIES
Geelong: James Podsiadly (hip) replaced in selected side by Jesse Stringer
Carlton: Robert Warnock (hip)
SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Orren Stephenson replaced by Jesse Stringer in the third quarter
Carlton: Robert Warnock replaced by Chris Yarran in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Rosebury, Wenn
Official crowd: 47,632 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
