Carlton’s hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon appear doomed after they coughed up a half-time lead in their 29-point loss to Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
The Blues led by 13 points at the long break on Sunday but Fremantle piled on seven unanswered goals in the third term to set up the 15.11 (101) to 10.12 (72) win in front of 40,028 fans.
Carlton would have been just one win adrift of Gold Coast if they had gotten over the line against Fremantle.
But the loss means Carlton need to beat the Bulldogs and Crows in the final two rounds, plus rely on Gold Coast losing to Brisbane and Geelong, in order to get off the bottom of the ladder.
Carlton suffered a big blow before the match when star ruckman Matthew Kreuzer had to be pulled out because of another heart scare.
Kreuzer hadn’t played since experiencing an elevated heart rate in the round 17 loss to St Kilda and his hopes of returning against Fremantle were dashed when he suffered a recurrence at training on Saturday.
The Blues were well served by Patrick Cripps (32 disposals and eight clearances) and veteran Dale Thomas (30 possessions, one goal).
Dockers midfielder Lachie Neale was best afield with 34 disposals, 10 clearances, and a goal, while Cam McCarthy booted three goals to go with his final-term speccy.
But star goalsneak Michael Walters injured his left hamstring late in the match and might miss the final two rounds of the season.
Carlton dominated the clearance battle 12-5 in the opening term, with Charlie Curnow cashing in up forward to register eight disposals, five marks and a goal.
The Dockers had five players tally just one disposal for the term, including premiership wingman Brad Hill.
The Blues led by 14 points at the first change – just the fourth time this season they’ve won an opening term.
The second quarter was an arm wrestle as Fremantle managed to halve the clearance battle.
The Dockers blew the game apart in the third quarter, with their frenetic pressure proving too much for Carlton to handle.
Under-fire Blues coach Brendon Bolton gave his team a huge spray at three-quarter time and Carlton responded with the opening two goals of the final term.
But a Brennan Cox settler and Cam McCarthy’s third goal of the afternoon ensured Carlton’s fightback was short lived.