The 14.12 (96) to 9.15 (69) victory was orchestrated by a brilliant midfield performance as Rodney Eade's men severely dented the Blues' top four aspirations in front of 38, 582 fans.
The win sees the Bulldogs just half a game outside the top eight while the Blues are now just two points ahead of West Coast as the fight for that crucial fourth spot continues. Carlton's fourth loss of the season was further compounded by a groin injury to key forward Jarrad Waite late in the second term, as they struggled to find any avenues forward in his absence.
The Bulldogs back-half was lead by Tom Williams, with the defender playing the best game of his career and proving a thorn in the Blues' forays forward.
The Bulldogs' work rate and intensity through the middle outshone the Blues, with the performances of Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Matthew Boyd and Callan Ward all ensuring Lindsay Gilbee celebrated his 200th game in style.
After the Blues opened up a 27-point lead midway through the second quarter on the back of two goals from 50m penalties, the Bulldogs fought their way back into the contest, with Easton Wood down back and Luke Dahlhaus up forward providing the spark as they reduced the deficit to just two points at the main break.
After seven unanswered goals from the Bulldogs, it took some magic from Marc Murphy on the wing midway through the third quarter to keep the ball alive before Mitch Robinson kicked truly to record the Blues' first goal since the seven-minute mark of the second term.
But the Bulldogs had all the answers as Barry Hall and Andrew Hooper continued to cause Blues defenders problems, while a contentious mark paid to Callan Ward when the ball seemed to hit the ground extended their lead to 16 points heading into the final change.
Yet another 50m penalty, this time awarded to Ryan Griffen after David Ellard entered the protective zone, made the task too difficult for the Blues with Hall's fourth major sealing a memorable win for the Bulldogs.
QUARTER BY QUARTER
FIRST QUARTER
A tense opening term saw just two goals apiece to both sides. Dreadlocked Bulldog forward Luke Dahlhaus setting up Barry Hall to get their first. It took 17 minutes for Carlton to find their opening goal but back-to-back majors to Simpson and Ellard had the Blues in front.
A late goal to Bulldog tall forward Liam Jones cut the margin to just three points at quarter-time.Carlton by three points
SECOND QUARTER
Carlton burst out of the blocks with four quick goals, to lead by 27 points after just ten minutes, two of which were a result of controversial 50 metre penalties. The Bulldogs then responded with four of their own, thanks to a brilliant dribble goal to Barry Hall and a sliding soccer goal to Ryan Griffen cutting the margin to two points at the main break. Carlton by two points
THIRD QUARTER
A ferocious start to the second half saw some big tackles laid as both teams tried to gain the upper hand. Andrew Hooper finished off a classy move by the Bulldogs to put them in front for the first time and when Cooney goaled on the run they were suddenly out by nine. Mitch Robinson pegged one back for the Blues with a great running goal from 50, but the quarter belonged to the Bulldogs as they led by 16 points going into the last quarter.
Western Bulldogs by 16 points
FOURTH QUARTER
The sixth 50 metre penalty of the match led to a Bulldogs goal to Ryan Griffen. Carlton failed to find a way forward as the Bulldogs pressure kept them at bay. A poor kick out of defence set up Josh Hill but he failed to put the game beyond doubt. Walker then goaled and the Blues had a sniff, but when Hall put through his fourth the game was over. Western Bulldogs by 27 points
Match details
Western Bulldogs 2.4 6.7 11.9 14.12 (96)
Carlton 2.7 6.9 8.11 9.15 (69)
GOALS - Western Bulldogs: Hall 4, Griffen 2, Hooper 2, Gilbee, Ward, Cooney, Jones, Dahlhaus, Giansiracusa
Carlton: Simpson 2, Murphy, Gibbs, Robinson, Betts, Joseph, Ellard
BEST - Western Bulldogs: Cooney, Dahlhaus, Hall, Boyd, Hudson, Ward, Williams
Carlton: Murphy, Gibbs, Simpson, Robinson, Judd, Laidler
INJURIES - Western Bulldogs: Nil Carlton: Andrew Carrazzo replaced in selected side by Aaron Joseph, Jarrad Waite (groin)
SUBSTITUTES - Western Bulldogs: Sam Reid replaced by Josh Hill in the third quarter
Carlton: Jarrad Waite (groin) replaced by Jordan Russell in the second quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Nicholls, Chamberlain, Meredith
Official crowd: 38, 582 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
