Carlton key forward Jarrad Waite was cleared on Saturday of major damage to his knee as skipper Marc Murphy insisted the Blues were not out of AFL finals contention despite their crushing loss to Collingwood.

The Blues were 28 points up during the first quarter of Friday night’s round-15 clash, but conceded three goals late in the opening term after Waite limped off.

Collingwood booted six goals to Carlton’s one in the second quarter to grab a 24-point lead at halftime. The Magpies increased their advantage to 47 points at three-quarter time, allowing them to cruise to a sweet victory 17.16 (118) to 12.5 (77) against their arch rivals in front of 78,224 fans.

The Blues (6-8 win-loss) sit two games outside the top eight after their heaviest loss of the season.

But they’ll start favourites for next Saturday night’s clash with St Kilda at Etihad Stadium and Carlton are yet to rule Waite out of the match.

“Scans today have revealed that Carlton forward Jarrad Waite suffered bone bruising to his left knee during an incident in the first quarter of last night’s match,” the Blues said in a statement.

“Club doctors will monitor Jarrad’s knee over the coming days to see how it settles before determining his availability for Carlton’s round-16 match against St Kilda.”

Murphy, who returned to action wearing a helmet after breaking his cheekbone against Hawthorn three weeks ago, had 18 possessions and one clearance and didn’t have a huge influence on the match.

“There’s still eight games of footy left,” Murphy said on Saturday.

“A lot can happen in eight weeks. We’ve just got to worry about responding against St Kilda next week.”

Eddie Betts suffered a hip-muscle injury but Murphy is confident the small forward will be fit to take on the Saints at Etihad Stadium on July 13.

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse also isn’t giving up on an unlikely finals berth, saying he’ll be telling his players to not even glance at the ladder.

“The ladder is totally and utterly irrelevant for us,” he said.