The Blues took a 12-game losing streak dating back to round eight 2000 into the match and they looked in a bit of trouble at 15 points down early in the second half, but they broke the shackles to storm home with a nine-goals- to-nil final term to register a 19.10 (124) to 9.9 (63) win.
Chris Judd was worn close by Jarrad McVeigh all day, but the skipper fought through the tag brilliantly to put in a 26-possession performance that was one of the key factors in the win.
He didn't play a lone hand, however, with Ryan Houlihan playing one of his best games of the season with 22 possessions while Kade Simpson (30), Marc Murphy (21) and Andrew Carrazzo (21) all worked hard.
Brendan Fevola backed up last week's nine-goal effort with five to lead all scorers, but Brad Fisher also played a pivotal role with his three goals in succession in the third quarter proving crucial.
Ryan O'Keefe led the Swans with 33 touches and two goals with Rhyce Shaw (31) and McVeigh (30) also prominent.
The match was a typical Sydney Swans affair with one-on-one contests all over the ground, with the exception of a spare defender looming with intent to frustrate Fevola's attempts to lead into space.
As it has time and time again, the strategy worked a treat with the Swans controlling the tempo of the game and making the Blues appear hesitant with the ball in hand for long periods of a first half that produced a total of 10 goals.
Fevola opened his account in the ninth minute and followed it up with a brilliant long pass into space that allowed Matthew Kreuzer to run onto the ball and kick a nice snapped goal.
Judd's class shone through as he tapped the ball to himself and stormed into an open goal to open a 14-point lead, but big Jesse White proved a handful for Adam Hartlett late in the quarter and booted successive majors to slice Carlton's lead to three points at the first break.
Kreuzer added another early in the second after an excellent contested mark over two defenders, but the Swans successfully applied the clamps as the flow of the game slowed to a trickle.
Brett Ratten was keen to match up the Swans' spare man in defence, but every time he sent someone up forward to do so, Paul Roos simply added another defender leaving the Blues with a highly-congested eight-man forward line at one point.
Roos continued to get good service from his big men with White booting his third and Jolly converting a set shot inside 50 to put his side up by nine points at half time.
Luke Ablett stretched that advantage to 15 points two minutes into the second half, which isn't an imposing figure, but with the Swans calling the shots around the stoppages Carlton faced a crucial period.
Murphy had been locked in a tense struggle with Kieren Jack and he got one up on his minder when he coaxed a 50m penalty and booted the goal that started the Blues' resurgence.
Fev got away from Craig Bolton to mark and add his second and when Fisher stepped up to fire through three in a row Carlton looked to have gained the upper hand and led by 21 points.
But in typical Sydney Swans fashion they hit back through White and Ryan O'Keefe, who goaled with just one second remaining in the term to make it a nine-point game.
Given the recent history between the two sides it looked set to go down to the wire, but two centre clearances led to goals to Bryce Gibbs and Carrazzo within a minute and the rout was on.
Carlton 3.4 4.6 10.8 19.10 (124)
Sydney Swans 3.1 6.3 9.5 9.9 (63)
GOALS
Carlton: Fevola 5, Fisher 3, Kreuzer 2, Murphy 2, Gibbs 2, Judd, Yarran, Simpson, Carrazzo, Betts
Sydney Swans: White 4, O'Keefe 2, O'Loughlin, Jolly, Ablett
BEST
Carlton: Judd, Houlihan, Fevola, Simpson, Murphy, Gibbs, Kreuzer, Hampson
Sydney Swans: O'Keefe, Jolly, White, Shaw, Goodes, McVeigh, C. Bolton
INJURIES
Carlton: Jamison (groin) out, replaced in selected side by Hartlett
Sydney Swans: Malceski (TBA), Pyke (TBA) out, replaced in selected side by Bevan, Ablett, Richards (ribs)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Schmitt, Avon
Official crowd: 42,018 at Docklands
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
