ASIDE from Shaun Hampson's 'speccie' and Irishman Zach Tuohy's first goal, there was nothing particularly spectacular about Carlton's 61-point win over the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

But that just shows how well the Blues are travelling at the moment.

Their clinical 19.10 (124) to 9.9 (63) victory over the Lions, in which Chris Judd (31 possessions, 15 contested), Kade Simpson (30 touches) and Marc Murphy (28 disposals, seven tackles and two goals) were the stars, lifted them above Hawthorn into third place on the ladder.

Not only are they entrenching themselves in the top four, they're also staying in touch with pacesetters Geelong and Collingwood.

Brett Ratten's men sealed the four points by kicking 10 goals to two in the second and third quarters.

Having established a 61-point advantage at the final change, they cruised to their eighth win of the season.

Among the many good things to come out of the game for Carlton was the successful return of star big man Matthew Kreuzer, who made his first AFL appearance since he suffered a serious knee injury in round 13 last year.

Kreuzer rotated between the forward line and the ruck - alternating places with Hampson - and ended the afternoon with 13 possessions, three marks and 12 hit-outs.

A week after kicking a career-high six goals against Port Adelaide, Andrew Walker was again Carlton's most impressive player in attack.

He finished with five straight goals, taking his season's tally to 30, while Eddie Betts chipped in with three.

Former Lion Lachie Henderson, who was included as a replacement for injured forward Jarrad Waite, also showed plenty of encouraging signs early in the game.

Having lined up across half-forward, he took four marks in the opening quarter, although some inaccurate kicking spoiled his good work. He spent the last term at full-back on Mitch Clark.

The downside for the Blues was a second-quarter collision between fiery onballer Mitch Robinson and Lions midfielder Jack Redden.

Robinson appeared to bump Redden in the head and the clash is sure to be looked at by the match review panel.

Redden (32 possessions, five tackles) and Simon Black (30 touches) were among the best players for the embattled Lions.

1st Quarter
After nearly 12 months on the sidelines, Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer made his long awaited return from a serious knee injury. With both knees heavily strapped, he started at full-forward, delighting the crowd with a couple of contested marks before moving into the ruck.  The Blues fired early in front of goal with Andrew Walker kicking the first two of the game, before Mitch Clark opened the account for the Lions at the 14 minute mark. The telling stat at quarter time, Carlton 22 tackles, to the Lions eight.

Carlton by 13 points.

2nd Quarter
The Lions defence was under siege early with all the play in Carlton's attacking half. Fortunately for the visitors the Blues were wasteful in front of goal, kicking 4.4 for the term. Going forward the Lions lacked structure. They were on par in forward 50 entries with Carlton just in front with 12 to the Lions 10 for the quarter. But the Brisbane Lions just couldn't hit up targets in attack with just the one goal through Ash McGrath at the 20 minute mark. One improvement on the stat sheet that term however for the Lions was their pressure, winning the tackle count 19 to 16.

Carlton by 33 points.

3rd Quarter
The Blues leg speed was on show in the third quarter, with the midfielders kicking long inside 50 to a contest. At ground level the likes of Garlett, Betts and Walker were too good for Carlton, turning the Lions' defenders inside out. Carlton kicked five unanswered goals before the Lions finally broke through with a goal from skipper Jonathan Brown. But the game was already over and Betts made sure of it, kicking his third major after the siren.

Carlton by 61 points.

4th Quarter
The Lions made a positive start to the final term kicking three goals in the first seven minutes. Carlton defender Michael Jamison was subbed during the three-quarter time break leaving Bret Thornton to take over duties on Lions skipper Jonathan Brown, who kicked two goals early. But the Blues had answers of their own, with Walker kicking his fifth goal and Irish-man Tuohy kicking his first AFL goal in his second game, as the Blues marched to victory.

Carlton wins by 61 points.

Influential players
During the first three quarters, Carlton defenders Michael Jamison and Bret Thornton shared the duties on Lions captain Jonathan Brown. Rotating off the interchange bench, they held Brown to only five possessions and one goal. But although he was struggling so much that he copped a Bronx cheer from the Blues fans during the third term, Brown never gave up. After Jamison was subbed off at the final change, so fellow defender Paul Bower could have a run, Brown came to life, booting two late goals to finish with three.

Magic moment
In the 17th minute of the first quarter, the Blues went inside 50 where ruckman Shaun Hampson launched himself at a pack of players. With his arms fully extended, he took a spectacular mark, flattening Lions midfielder Jack Redden in the process. Unfortunately for Hampson, his shot at goal was touched on the line.

Stats that matter
Last weekend, Carlton laid only 49 tackles in its win over Port Adelaide. However, the Blues were back to their aggressive best against the Lions, laying 77 tackles and completely shutting down the visiting team's running players.

Changing places
In round two last year, the Brisbane Lions beat Carlton by 19 points at the Gabba. With Jonathan Brown and ex-Blue Brendan Fevola on fire up forward (they kicked 10 goals between them), the Lions were at that stage being talked up as a chance to win the flag. But the two clubs' fortunes - along with that of Fevola - have changed dramatically in the past 14 months. After their latest loss, the Lions are languishing in 15th place on the ladder with a 2-9 record, while Carlton is sitting pretty in third spot.


Carlton                      4.4   8.8    14.9   19.10 (124)
Brisbane Lions          2.3   3.5    4.8      9.9 (63)
GOALS - Carlton:  Walker 5, Betts 3, Ellard 2, Garlett 2, Murphy 2, Hampson Carrazzo, Russell, Henderson, Tuohy
Brisbane Lions:  Brown 2, Clark 2, McGrath 2, Rich, Black, Collier
BEST - Carlton: Simpson, Judd, Murphy, Scotland, Walker, Tuohy
Brisbane Lions: Redden, Rockliff, Black, Clark

INJURIES - Carlton: None
Brisbane Lions: None

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Michael Jamison replaced by Paul Bower in the final quarter
Brisbane Lions: Bryce Retzlaff replaced by Josh Green in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Margetts, Kennedy, Ryan

Official crowd: 43,617 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club