IT WAS a key game, and it was a game of keys.

Whether it was Sam Darcy or Jacob Weitering, Rory Lobb or Brodie Kemp, Buku Khamis or Charlie Curnow, this thrilling encounter was shaped by the big guys. But it was defined by the one whose impact, right up until the final moments, had been barely felt.

As the game ticked into its dying embers, Western Bulldogs key forward Aaron Naughton was goalless with just four disposals to his name. A few seconds later, that mattered little.

With his side trailing by less than a kick with under five minutes remaining, it was Naughton's that brought the Dogs back from the brink to secure what had just moments earlier appeared an unlikely 12.11 (83) to 11.9 (75) win.

James O'Donnell then kicked another, extending the margin to one Carlton couldn't whittle back. The Blues falling to a dismal 0-3, the Dogs getting the result their effort and application had perhaps deserved last week.

Carlton had started hot. It had kicked the game's opening three goals and leapt into a 24-point lead, supercharged by Kemp's five goals, Curnow's three and Weitering's effective shutdown job on Darcy through the game's first three quarters.

But, as Darcy grew into the game to finish with two majors, Tom Liberatore (30 disposals, 10 tackles, one goal), Sam Davidson (31 disposals, 10 marks) and ex-Blue Matt Kennedy (22 disposals, two goals) drove the Dogs to victory.

Carlton's start was almost like a sneak attack. Playing a brand unrecognisable from the opening fortnight of the season, the Blues had three goals on the board before the Bulldogs could blink. The question was whether they could sustain the momentum and, while the answer wasn't a resounding yes, there were positive signs.

The Dogs eventually settled into their groove and had four more entries and close to 75 percent of the ball in their forward half to quarter time, yet Carlton grew optimistic through its resilience. It held its opponents goalless in the opening term – and indeed for the first 37 minutes of the match – adding to the lead through Curnow's second.

As the pattern of play evened out in the second quarter, so too did the scoring. Both sides traded goals, including a Kennedy snap against his former side and Curnow slotting his third, with neither side able to put a sizeable dent in the margin.

Instead, it fluctuated on either side of 20 points. Where the Blues couldn't get the advantage beyond four goals, the Dogs struggled to get within two at the other end. The result was a cage fight, as the contest grew into a scrappy tug of war.

Darcy eventually got the better of Weitering to kickstart the third term, before Kemp – having an impact at the other – kicked his third, as the game hovered through a precarious period. Carlton's lead simply wasn't big enough to be comfortable, giving the Bulldogs a sniff of hope.

They seized on that glimmer late in the third. Laitham Vandermeer's pressure got one back, Lachie McNeil's smarts brought it closer, before Kennedy's second of the evening drew the scores level for the first time since the game's first moments.

The Blues needed a circuit-breaker. Kemp, his influence on the match growing as it went on, proved exactly that. Spotted up by George Hewett, he kicked his fourth from an intimidating angle to restore a slender lead at the final change.

But the Dogs now had a pulse. Spurred on by Rhylee West's unnerving set-shot on the three-quarter time siren, they sought to gain their first lead of the night. A flashpoint involving a lengthy score review, which determined a touched Darcy shot, delayed their hopes, but not for long.

Darcy beat Weitering on the lead, eventually had his second of the night, and the Bulldogs saw an advantage for the very first time. Now, it was up to the Blues to respond and, once again, it looked to Kemp. A dolly over the top, from Francis Evans' pass, brought about a fifth and the restoration of a buffer that had just evaporated.

But the Dogs never wavered. Now full of belief following their fightback, Naughton kicked the goal that put them in front before O'Donnell's that denied any hopes of the Blues getting back in the match.

The Bulldogs will next face Fremantle on Sunday 6 April at Optus Stadium. 

CARLTON                              4.3     7.5     9.9     11.9 (75)
WESTERN BULLDOGS           0.4     4.5     9.7    12.11 (83)

GOALS
Carlton: Kemp 5, Curnow 3, Young 2, Motlop
Western Bulldogs: Darcy 2, Kennedy 2, O'Donnell 2, Sanders, Liberatore, Vandermeer, McNeil, West, Naughton

BEST
Carlton: Kemp, De Koning, Silvagni, Weitering, Cerra, Curnow
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Davidson, Darcy, Harmes, Williams, Sanders

INJURIES
Carlton: Williams (Achilles)
Western Bulldogs: Baker (quad)

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Boyd (replaced Williams in the second quarter)
Western Bulldogs: Dolan (replaced Baker in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: 44,894 at Marvel Stadium