Carlton veteran Marc Murphy grimaces in pain during the final quarter of his side's win over the Western Bulldogs. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

CARLTON is breathing a sigh of relief after its upset victory over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday night, with important duo Patrick Cripps and Marc Murphy avoiding serious injury setbacks.

BLUES MAKE A STATEMENT Full match coverage and stats

Cripps came from the field in the first quarter with a jarred left shoulder, but reappeared after the opening change and played out the match despite heavy strapping following a hard tackle on Rhylee West.

ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 07:09

    Beveridge: 'We fell apart a bit at the end'

    Luke Beveridge says his side let Carlton get 'too much fluency' from their midfield and didn't run with them enough down the stretch

    AFL
  • 08:57

    Teague: 'Our best four-quarter performance'

    David Teague says his team 'believes in themselves' and was pleased they managed to string together their most consistent effort all season

    AFL
  • 07:50

    Highlights: Carlton v Western Bulldogs

    The Blues and Bulldogs clash in round six

    AFL
  • 01:54

    McGovern and McKay reach for the sky

    Blues fans will be delighted to see both Mitch McGovern and Harry McKay producing tireless performances in the forward line

    AFL
  • 00:27

    Victory soured as ex-skipper hobbles off

    Carlton have been dealt a late blow with Marc Murphy limping off the ground after appearing to injure himself in an innocuous incident

    AFL
  • 00:34

    Blues somehow survive ferocious wave, Gibbons goals

    Carlton withstand a series of tenacious tackles from the Bulldogs and manage to muster another goal through Michael Gibbons

    AFL
  • 00:38

    Buzzer-beater Betts, if you don't mind on the left

    Eddie Betts hits the ball with pace and steals one before half-time following a neat little dribble kick

    AFL
  • 00:38

    Mega mess turns into mega McKay

    Carlton nearly squander a simple opportunity but eventually recover and feed the ball to Harry McKay who dobs it

    AFL
  • 00:37

    New Blue Newnes lures a Dog in with candy

    Jack Newnes sells a beautiful dummy and his snap on goal is equally as impressive

    AFL
  • 00:33

    Betts benefits after another Blue brings the heat

    Harry McKay does brilliantly to run down Jason Johannisen and Eddie Betts does the rest

    AFL
  • 00:34

    Angry Dog lets Blue guns know about his goal

    Bailey Smith dribbles through an awesome goal only moments after getting involved in a fierce tangle with Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh

    AFL

The three-time best and fairest winner had just one disposal in the second term and finished with only 13 touches for the match, but Blues coach David Teague allayed fears that the injury was a significant one.

"I think (he's OK)," Teague said.

"I think it's just a jarred shoulder. I don't know too much about it. I asked if he was right to go back on, they said 'yes', I said 'that's good'. It was a pretty simple conversation.

"He seemed pretty happy in the rooms. He didn't seem to be complaining about his shoulder after the game."

08:57

Teague: 'Our best four-quarter performance'

David Teague says his team 'believes in themselves' and was pleased they managed to string together their most consistent effort all season

Meanwhile, Murphy ended the match on the bench after pulling up lame with a hip injury due to an innocuous incident where the veteran midfielder was hovering on the outside of a contest.

00:27

Victory soured as ex-skipper hobbles off

Carlton have been dealt a late blow with Marc Murphy limping off the ground after appearing to injure himself in an innocuous incident

Despite initial fears the injury was related to a syndesmosis problem that kept Murphy to just 10 matches in 2016, Teague revealed the former captain had tweaked his hip.

"I think it was more towards his hip area," Teague said.

"When it happened, he thought he'd hurt something. But by the time we finished the game, he said it felt good. I think he'll be all right."

07:50

Highlights: Carlton v Western Bulldogs

The Blues and Bulldogs clash in round six

Carlton's 52-point victory snapped a three-match winning streak for the Western Bulldogs, with their coach Luke Beveridge flagging changes due to a short break ahead of Friday night's encounter with Essendon at Metricon Stadium.

The Dogs have taken a full squad to the Queensland hub, with Beveridge suggesting it would give the side the ability to make alterations ahead of next week's important clash with the Bombers.

07:09

Beveridge: 'We fell apart a bit at the end'

Luke Beveridge says his side let Carlton get 'too much fluency' from their midfield and didn't run with them enough down the stretch

"There's not many in our group that we wouldn't give a game to," Beveridge said.

"It's the communal thing (taking a full squad). It's an opportunity to galvanise through a more challenging year than any year we've ever played. It was just common sense to bring everyone, work together and enjoy each other's company.

"You’ve got to get that balance right. Whether or not we did this week, I don't know … but we'll learn from it and we need to present better this Friday night."

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