GREATER Western Sydney has recorded consecutive wins for the first time in its history, knocking off Carlton by eight points at Spotless Stadium.
It has been slow going for GWS overs its three-year existence, but the fledgling club enjoyed a record score and winning margin over the Brisbane Lions last week before Sunday's first victory over the Blues.
The Giants prevailed 15.10 (100) to 14.8 (92) to improve to 4-9 for the season against a Blues line-up that will now face plenty of question marks in the coming days.
Shane Mumford was immense in the ruck for the Giants, while Dylan Shiel, Adam Treloar, Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio led a midfield that won the day against its more fancied opponents.
Rhys Palmer kicked three goals and Shiel, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Jonathon Patton added two apiece.
"It's another great moment for the club," GWS coach Leon Cameron said afterwards.
"To win two in a row, to continue our good form at Spotless Stadium, it's really good.
"We're starting to build a reputation that it's tough to beat us here and to back up from last week, that's the really pleasing thing.
"I was a little bit concerned through the week, our training just dropped a touch, but to the credit of the guys, they addressed that themselves and said we have to get off to a good start and I think we did."
Mitch Robinson (31 possessions, 10 clearances) had a day out for the visitors, who lost Marc Murphy (hamstring tightness) before the opening bounce.
Bryce Gibbs, Chris Judd and Andrew Walker also contributed to the cause and Troy Menzel kicked three goals.
But they couldn’t prevent a fourth straight Carlton loss, leaving it also 4-9 for the year and out of finals contention on a tough day for veteran coach Mick Malthouse.
"The simple fact is they out-ran us, they out-touched us; they're going to be a very, very powerful side when they get a bit more maturity," Malthouse said.
"Right now, they've got the ingredients of a very good football side.
"When you look at some of their players in and around the ball, they're good one-touch players.
"We were dreadful in one-touch. Dreadful. We gave the ball back to them time and time and time again.
"And you can't win games of footy when you give the ball back."
It was a free-flowing contest from the opening bounce, with the two teams kicking 5.1 apiece in an entertaining first quarter.
Two great goals on the run from Shiel and Devon Smith helped GWS to an early 19-point lead, but Carlton responded, kicking three late goals to leave the match all tied up after one quarter.
A neat effort from Gibbs gave the Blues an early second-quarter lead, but from that point on it was all GWS, slamming through four straight goals as the Giants took a deserved 22-point lead into the main break.
The Giants' 10.2 to half-time represented their biggest ever first-half score, surpassing the 9.5 they kicked against Geelong last season.
The scoring dried up in the third term, with the teams trading goals until back-to-back majors from the Blues made it an eight-point game deep into the quarter.
A late Rhys Palmer goal then restored a 14-point buffer for the Giants and they looked likely winners.
So it proved, with the team withstanding a late Carlton fightback for another significant day in the young club's history.
Giants defender Josh Hunt lays a big tackle on Carlton's Jarrad Waite. Image: AFL Media
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 5.1 10.2 13.4 15.10 (100)
CARLTON 5.1 6.5 10.8 14.8 (92)
GOALS
GWS: Palmer 3, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Shiel 2, Patton 2, Boyd, Kelly, Smith, Ward, Whitfield, Jaksch
Carlton: Menzel 3, McLean 2, Waite 2, Thomas 2, Armfield, Everitt, Walker, Tuohy, Gibbs
BEST
GWS: Mumford, Shiel, Ward, Palmer, Coniglio, Patton
Carlton: Robinson, Gibbs, Judd, Walker, Everitt, Menzel
INJURIES
GWS: Nil
Carlton: Murphy (hamstring tightness) replaced in selected side by Armfield, White (knee)
SUBSTITUTES
GWS: Nathan Wilson replaced Kristian Jaksch in the fourth quarter
Carlton: Dennis Armfield replaced Simon White in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Ryan, Jeffery, Mitchell
Official crowd: 9059 at Spotless Stadium
