With less than three minutes to play and Carlton clinging to a one-point lead, Geelong forward Allen Christensen led and had his marking attempt spoiled by opponent Sam Docherty. The umpire closest to the contest decided there was no free kick – for chopping the arms or hands in the back – and play went on for a moment. Seconds later, the decision was overruled from well down the field by the non-officiating umpire, who paid a free kick for hands in the back. Christensen converted his set shot, giving the Cats a five-point lead. When the siren sounded, the Cats' cheers were drowned out by Blues' boos.   

If he wasn't winning so much footy early, Joel Selwood might have stopped to ponder what he'd done to earn the jeers of the Carlton crowd. The Geelong skipper won 17 possessions in the first half, and was booed for most of them. The only answer as to why would be for receiving three free kicks, one of which was questionable after Sam Rowe laid a clean but hard bump on the midfielder early in the second quarter. The Cats moved the ball forward from there, resulting in a goal to Steven Motlop, and the Carlton crowd didn't forget it. Selwood was much quieter in the second half, winning just four possessions. 

Troy Menzel doesn't need much of an opening to hurt his opposition – he's proved that much in his 24 games – and a slim opening is exactly what James Kelly gave him early in the third quarter. After gathering the ball in the back pocket, Kelly turned towards the goal face and was under pressure. Instead of rushing a behind, the veteran handballed across goal and along the ground, hoping the get the ball to teammate Jed Bews. Menzel read the play and threw his left boot at the ball, drilling it past Kelly for a brilliant goal that kick-started the Blues' third-quarter run. 

Carlton skipper Marc Murphy was tagged by Cameron Guthrie in an entertaining and spiteful duel that went the distance. Ten minutes into the third quarter, Murphy was cleaned up by Guthrie after he had disposed of the ball, resulting in a down-field free kick. Murphy took exception and delivered a right-hand jab to Guthrie's stomach. Murphy was lucky to escape without punishment for an elbow to Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley's stomach two weeks ago, and on current trends, the Match Review Panel is likely to clear this incident on the grounds of insufficient force.       

The third quarter was a nightmare in front of goal for the Cats, who turned 12 inside 50s into 2.8. Josh Caddy missed twice, as did Tom Hawkins, while Hamish McIntosh and Mark Blicavs were other culprits. It was in stark contrast to their first quarter, which saw the Cats utilise the corridor and pick out players inside 50 in good positions. Caddy made up for his earlier misses in the last quarter, taking a big contested mark and converting a set shot across his body from the pocket. Hawkins, who finished with 0.3, missed an opportunity to strengthen his position in the Coleman Medal race, remaining three goals behind leader Jarryd Roughead.