Carlton is most certainly the real deal.
After an extraordinary run of six goals in 14 minutes in the third term, the Blues twice hauled in 20-point margins to overrun the ladder-leading and previously undefeated GIANTS, winning by 19 in a 17.15 (117) to 15.8 (98) result at a packed Marvel Stadium.
Classy GIANTS winger Josh Kelly – one of his side's best – had kicked two goals in 90 seconds halfway through the third to help build out a second 20-point buffer.
But Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay responded by kicking goals for the first time all match, and then Curnow and McKay and Curnow again, and suddenly Blues fans were lifting the roof off the stadium with their voice and drums as they hit the front.
They were never headed from there.
Curnow – disposal-less in the opening term, matched up mostly against Jack Buckley – had started the second with a sense of urgency, but rushed himself in his desperation to get going, kicking four behinds in that single quarter.
Meanwhile, the GIANTS gradually chipped away in a methodical manner, calmly picking out options by hand and foot – moving the ball at pace, but never rushed, racking up 5.3 for the term. It was their best period of play for the game.
Curnow was sent to the backline in the final minutes to successfully stem the flow, while Ollie Hollands and Tom De Koning hauled the margin back to nine at the main break, saving Blues fans from being consigned back to the tortured Carlton department.
The GIANTS' tackling pressure through the second and start of the third term was simply superb, putting a brake on Carlton's clearance work and briefly creating a brick wall across their defensive 50, but they weren't able to hold back the dam wall for the full game.
Leek Aleer – playing his first game in 609 days, replacing the concussed Sam Taylor – had an intriguing battle with McKay, recording 10 spoils in the first half and holding the star goalless until halfway through the third.
Carlton superstar Sam Walsh's sharp return from a back injury continued, adding 35 disposals and six clearances to the 34 he recorded last week.
Jacob Weitering suffered a corked quad just seconds before half-time, but more concerningly, Zac Williams was subbed off after suffering what the club described as a "knock" to his Achilles tendon.
CARLTON 5.1 7.7 14.10 17.15 (117)
GIANTS 4.1 9.4 12.7 15.8 (98)
GOALS
Carlton: McKay 3, De Koning 3, Curnow 3, E.Hollands 2, Durdin 2, Owies, Kennedy, O.Hollands, Cottrell
GIANTS: Riccardi 3, Kelly 3, Hogan 3, Bedford 2, Peatling, Daniels, Cadman, Buckley
BEST
Carlton: Cripps, Walsh, De Koning, Curnow, McKay, Pittonet
GIANTS: Green, Kelly, Hogan, Aleer, Whitfield
INJURIES
Carlton: Williams (Achilles knock), Weitering (corked quad)
GIANTS: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Jack Carroll (replaced Zac Williams at half-time)
GIANTS: James Peatling (replaced Xavier O'Halloran at three-quarter time)
Crowd: 40,474 at Marvel Stadium
