Carlton has backed up last week's breakthrough win with another victory, defeating Essendon by 15 points in an error-riddled clash at the MCG on Sunday.
Last year's No.1 pick Jacob Weitering was involved in a potentially serious incident in the second quarter where he hurt his right shoulder and copped a heavy knock to the head.
He sat out the rest of the game but the shoulder injury does not appear to be too serious.
The Blues dominated for much of the day but struggled to convert before eventually coming away with the 10.12 (72) to 8.9 (57) victory.
Dale Thomas played arguably his best game for the club, notching up 30 disposals and seven tackles, as well as a goal.
Essendon had closed the gap to eight points after the Blues held a 26-point advantage in the final term.
A goal by Andrew Phillips from the 50m arc sealed the game for Carlton.
Brendon Bolton's men clearly had the better of the first half but struggled to convert their dominance on the scoreboard, leading by only 15 points at the main break despite dominating inside-50s (33-20).
Bolton rued his side's errors, but was pleased with the effort his players showed.
"I thought statistically we were pretty good in this game. We won the inside-50s, we won the contested possession, and we got a lot of forward half turnovers," Bolton said after the game.
"Defensively we're holding up. We've still got to improve it but by and large, we're giving ourselves forward entries and opportunities.
"We've got a bit of a knack of making that which is incredibly easy, incredibly hard."
The game descended into a contest befitting 16th v 17th in the second term, with nine behinds the only scores from both teams.
A particularly farcical play came when Essendon's Sam Grimley had the chance to soccer the ball through from the goalsquare but missed completely.
Weitering's subsequent attempt to rush it through for a behind only just crawled over the line for a point.
Mitch Brown's shin accidentally collided into the Blue at that moment, leaving Weitering on the ground for at least a minute.
The low quality of play continued in the third quarter. The Blues were again wasteful with Nick Graham, Levi Casboult, Liam Jones and Casboult all failing to even register a behind from chances that could certainly have been converted.
Essendon was also wasteful with the ball, much to the annoyance of coach John Worsfold.
"It was a scrappy game. In the second half, I thought we saw some reasonable signs," Worsfold said.
"(We've) also got to understand that a lot of these players have got a lot to learn about the game, so they're going to make mistakes and get in the wrong position at times."
The Bombers only hit the front once - on the back of a Darcy Parish goal in the third term - and Worsfold said his side's inability to distribute the ball effectively by foot was costly.
"It appeared that when we got the momentum, we won the footy back and then kicked it straight to them, and they got an easy goal against the flow. That's the story of where we're at," he said.
Jed Lamb hit back with an accurate set shot to give the Blues their first goal in an hour of play.
Carlton skipper Marc Murphy struggled at times with some basic errors but he kicked an important set shot 10 minutes into the final term.
Dennis Armfield and Liam Sumner followed with majors shortly afterwards to give the Blues breathing room.
Former Crow Matthew Wright celebrated his 100th game with a goal to end Essendon's chances.
MEDICAL ROOM
Carlton: The Blues' No.1 pick from last year came off the ground in the second quarter cradling his right arm. His right shoulder dislocated momentarily but popped back in. Carlton confirmed after the game the young defender had suffered a subluxation (partial dislocation) of his right shoulder, but was hopeful he wouldn't miss any football.
Essendon: Mathew Stokes came off in the first quarter with a "very tight" hamstring, according to Worsfold. He returned to the field and collected 15 disposals but will have a scan on Monday morning.
NEXT UP
It's another big game for the Blues next Saturday afternoon, when they face the Magpies at the MCG. The Bombers play the twilight game that day at the SCG against the Sydney Swans.
CARLTON 3.1 3.7 5.9 10.12 (72)
ESSENDON 1.1 1.4 4.8 8.9 (57)
GOALS
Carlton: Wright 2, Thomas, Jones, Lamb, Gibbs, Murphy, Armfield, Sumner, Phillips
Essendon: Brown 2, Parish 2, Fantasia, Polkinghorne, Daniher, Grimley
BEST
Carlton: Thomas, Gibbs, Curnow, Murphy, Simpson, Byrne, Kerridge
Essendon: Cooney, Zaharakis, Simpkin, Gwilt, Merrett
INJURIES
Carlton: Patrick Cripps (calf tightness) replaced in the selected side by Simon White, Jacob Weitering (shoulder)
Essendon: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fisher, Nicholls, Chamberlain
Official crowd: 43,827 at the MCG
