Hawthorn has inflicted the greatest loss on Carlton in its proud 119-season history, humiliating the Blues by 138 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Hawks had belted premiership contenders Fremantle and the Sydney Swans in the previous two rounds and did not let up against the 16th-placed Blues, slamming on the first nine goals of the game to extend their record winning streak against Carlton to 12 with an imposing 27.11 (173) to 4.11 (35) victory.
Carlton last beat the Hawks in round six, 2005.
Hawthorn's win could come at a price, however, with Josh Gibson likely to face Match Review Panel scrutiny after appearing to strike Blaine Boekhorst in the first quarter, and fellow defender Matt Spangher substituted out of the game with an apparent hamstring injury shortly before half-time.
The reigning premier also suffered a few nervous moments late in the third term when spearhead Jarryd Roughead landed heavily after a marking contest with Blue Sam Docherty.
Roughead limped to the interchange bench where he had treatment on his lower right leg, but returned to the Hawks' forward 50 for the start of the final term and finished the match strongly.
The Blues' previous biggest loss had been the 124-point thrashing it suffered at the hands of North Melbourne in round 22, 2003.
The Hawks' previous biggest winning margin over Carlton was 100 points in round 12, 2007, but with Jordan Lewis (36 possessions), Sam Mitchell (35) and Luke Hodge (32) racking up possessions at will in the midfield and Billy Hartung providing the outside dash, they passed that mark late in the third term.
Jack Gunston also feasted on the Blues' defence with an equal career-high six goals, Gibson soaked up 27 possessions in defence, and Brian Lake completely blanketed former Western Bulldogs teammate Liam Jones.
The Hawks sped the ball up and down the ground at times on Friday night, but more often took their time and sliced the Blues' defence apart with their precision foot skills.
At times, the Hawks toyed with their Blues’ prey.
At the 12-minute mark of the second quarter, Cyril Rioli marked inside the forward 50, chipped a short pass to an open Hartung, who then chipped a similar pass to the better-placed Roughead, who duly converted from 35m.
The reigning premiers' pressure was also outstanding and forced some of the most reliable Blues' ball-users into uncharacteristic errors.
Veteran defender Kade Simpson even seemed to feel inferred pressure late in the second quarter when he dropped a simple chest mark deep in the Blues' defensive 50 that led to a Rioli goal.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson was sympathetic towards the Blues' plight when he spoke after the game.
"Unfortunately things didn't go too right for the Blues. They're a very inexperienced outfit at the moment, and they're going through a bit of grief coming back on a six-day break from playing a good opponent in Fremantle," Clarkson said.
"They were unable to give a real yelp tonight, which is unlike them because in the last six or eight games they've been pretty good."
Interim Carlton coach John Barker said the record loss illustrated just how far the Blues had to go to return to the top of the ladder.
"It was a tough night at the office. I feel for our supporters, but I guess what you saw tonight was the absolute elite of the competition and you saw the gap between them and us, and you saw a sizeable gap, albeit we were very inexperienced," Barker said.
"We talked about endeavour a lot over the last six to seven weeks at Carlton, (but) there comes a point in time where skill undermines effort and endeavour, and I think it got the better hand of us tonight."
Carlton skipper Marc Murphy was his team's best performer in his 200th game, winning 37 hard-earned possessions, while Matthew Kreuzer toiled valiantly in the ruck and in attack.
The Blues' horror night started before the opening bounce when Troy Menzel was a late withdrawal after experiencing adductor tightness during the warm-up.
Nick Holman was also reported for a slinging left-arm spoil that caught Luke Breust high in the second quarter, and Jones is likely to face MRP scrutiny for a late spoil that caught Hartung high late in the second term.
CARLTON 0.2 2.5 2.7 4.11 (35)
HAWTHORN 5.2 13.4 20.8 27.11 (173)
GOALS
Carlton: Everitt, Jones, Bell, Boekhorst
Hawthorn: Gunston 6, Breust 3, Puopolo 3, Lewis 2, Schoenmakers 2, Rioli 2, Hartung 2, Roughead 2, McEvoy 2, Hodge, Hale, O'Rourke
BEST
Carlton: Murphy, Kreuzer, Bell, Cripps
Hawthorn: Lewis, Hartung, Mitchell, Gunston, Hodge, Rioli, Gibson
INJURIES
Carlton: Troy Menzel (tight adductor) replaced in the selected side by Blaine Johnson.
Hawthorn: Matt Spangher (hamstring), Jarryd Roughead (leg)
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Brad Walsh replaced Blaine Johnson in the third quarter
Hawthorn: Paul Puopolo replaced Matt Spangher in the second quarter
Reports: Nick Holman (Carlton) reported for striking Luke Breust (Hawthorn) in the first quarter.
Umpires: Deboy, Findlay, Jeffery
Official crowd: 26,815 at Etihad Stadium
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