Fevola beat Daniel Bradshaw in the first half, then manhandled Joel Macdonald in the second to finish with 8.3 and steer the Blues into the top four with a 16.16 (112) to 16.10 (106) win.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the visitors.
After leading by 34 points during the third quarter, and 30 at three-quarter time, the Blues had to withstand a withering last quarter burst by the home team in front of 33,790 suddenly energised fans.
Luke Power sprung to life with two goals, Jonathan Brown kicked one and when Justin Sherman handled twice to burst clear and goal on the run, the lead was back to six.
But as he had all night, Fevola answered the call and goal from a tight angle on the left after Macdonald gave away a free kick and Carlton never looked back.
In further bad news for the Lions they lost rebounding defender Josh Drummond in the first quarter with a calf injury and he never returned.
They missed his pin-point passing from the back, but Carlton thoroughly outplayed the Lions for the first three quarter.
Bryce Gibbs was dangerous all night and ended up with 27 possessions, while Chris Judd shared an engrossing duel with Cheynee Stiller, finishing with 28 disposals and a telling goal in the fourth.
Aaron Joseph was also a standout with his blanketing job on Lions livewire Rhan Hooper.
For the Lions Simon Black was irresistible, collecting 33 touches and driving them in the fourth quarter comeback.
Jared Brennan booted four goals, including three in a dynamic second quarter, to be a shining light, while Brown (19 possessions, 13 marks) was strong all night but his kicking boots let him down, finishing with 4.5 and two other shots that did not score.
The first quarter started with a bang for the Lions as Jared Brennan, playing forward, beat his man Paul Bower at ground level and snapped truly with the right foot inside 70 seconds.
After that Carlton assumed control for much of the term, but with Fevola kicking just one goal from four shots and uncharacteristic misses from Judd on the run and Eddie Betts off the ground, the Blues led by just 10 points.
Ashley McGrath’s running goal from outside the 50m was a rare highlight for a Lions team that had trouble hitting its targets.
Kade Simpson kicked truly after the siren to give the Blues a lead more deserving of their play, and it extended in the second quarter as Fevola continued to have the better of his duel with Bradshaw, adding two more to give his team a 17-point advantage at the long break.
The lead would have been much greater without the exquisite play of Brennan up forward.
He kicked the Lions’ only three goals for the term, including two in the space of a minute.
His first was truly a remarkable effort.
After spilling a sliding mark, Brennan regained his feet in a flash and got the ball on its first bounce, before screwing the it back on his left foot from just inside the 50.
He had the crowd involved again just 60 seconds later when roving a ball and tip-toeing along the sideline before running into an open goal with a little checkside on his left boot.
But Fevola had the final say of the half with a perfect set shot from the arc after being hit on the chest by Judd.
And he continued with a blistering four-goal quarter that swung the game to Carlton.
Lions coach Michal Voss moved Bradshaw forward in the third quarter and Joel Macdonald swung back to Fevola, but the Blues spearhead dominated.
He goaled from a free kick, twice from marks and once from a snap as the Blues raced clear by as much as 34.
The Lions turned to Brown who took two strong contested marks for goals, and Bradshaw’s soccered effort reduced the lead to 16.
But Carlton regained control before the last change when Ryan Houlihan threaded the needle from the junction of the 50m arc and right hand boundary line.
Brisbane Lions 2.2 5.5 9.7 16.10 (106)
Carlton 3.6 7.10 13.13 16.16 (112)
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brennan, Brown 4, Power, Bradshaw 2, McGrath, Black, Sherman, Rich
Carlton: Fevola 8, Judd, O’hAilpin, Scotland, Houlihan, Garlett, Simpson, Carrazzo, Fisher
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Brennan, Black, Power, Sherman, Clark, Adcock, Brown
Carlton: Fevola, Gibbs, Scotland, Judd, Bower, Thornton
INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Drummond (calf)
Carlton: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: James, Rosebury, Armstrong
Official crowd: 33,790 at Gabba
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
Vote for your best on ground now - Carlton Natural Blonde People’s Champion
