IT WAS a case of deja vu for Carlton at Carrara on Saturday night, with the Blues going down Kangaroos by 17 points, after having the better of the first half and more than their fair share of the play.

In a match which echoed last week's loss to Collingwood, Carlton led by 20 points at half-time on the back of four unanswered goals.

But with star forward Brendan Fevola appearing limited in his mobility after a first-half collision, the Blues battled for opportunities after the long break and fell to their fifth straight loss, 22.15 (147) to 20.10 (130).

Carlton, however, did fight it out to the end and put plenty of pressure on their hosts in the last quarter.

Lance Whitnall's third major, an impressive roost from 50m, reduced the deficit to 11 points with less than 10 minutes to play but, in a passage of play that reflected the second-half, Brent Harvey came up with an almost immediate answer at the other end, kicking his third goal of the game to seal the Roos' fifth straight win.

The game was ultimately decided in the first 40 minutes of the second half, in which the Roos booted nine goals to Carlton's two.

Thanks to a seven-goal third term, Dean Laidley's side was able to turn a half-time deficit of more than three goals into an 11-point three-quarter-time lead.

Shannon Grant and Brent Harvey kicked the first two goals of the last quarter and at that stage the Kangaroos looked like running away with it.

But Carlton soldiered on - the efficient Kade Simpson goaled twice in a minute, Anthony Koutoufides registered his first major of the season and Fevola added his fourth and fifth of the night to keep the Blues in the contest.

Andrew Carrazzo continued his purple patch of ball-gathering for Carlton with a team-high 28 possessions, while Simpson made the most of his 15 disposals, kicking 3.0 with his raking left foot.

Fevola, while clearly inconvenienced, still saw enough of the ball to kick 5.2, with youngster Luke Blackwell showing promise and Whitnall working hard and providing an impact at centre-half-forward.

The Kangaroos got five goals from Grant and an excellent contribution from Harvey, who ran hard for his 32 touches.

The final result didn't do justice to the way Carlton had played in an entertaining first half, as Denis Pagan's team got the early jump, weathered a Roos fightback and then kicked clear to take a handy advantage into half-time.

Brad Fisher and Fevola kicked two goals apiece as Carlton set up an 18-point break midway through the first quarter, before the Kangaroos, with Corey Jones prominent, hopped into life.

The Roos had chopped the deficit back to five points at quarter-time and, when Grant kicked their fourth consecutive goal five minutes into term two, the "home side" were in front by eight points.

From there, momentum see-sawed for the next 15 minutes, with Whitnall kicking a miracle "reverse banana" goal for the Blues from the left forward pocket and majors from Matthew Lappin and Simpson cancelling out a Kasey Green snap at the other end.

Carlton eventually took command again in the last 10 minutes of the first half, Setanta O'hAilpin moving up the ground to offer another big forward target. The Irishman attacked the contest with relish and had a direct hand in two goals.

By the time the half-time siren rang, the Blues had kicked four on the trot and were looking the better side.

Carlton's livewire forward Eddie Betts left the field midway through the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not reappear.

KANGAROOS 4.5 8.10 15.14 22.15 (147)
CARLTON 5.4 12.6 14.9 20.10 (130)

GOALS

Kangaroos: S Grant 5 L Thomas 3 L Brown 3 B Harvey 3 C Jones 2 M Campbell 2 A Edwards K Green D Harris D Petrie.
Carlton: B Fevola 5 B Fisher 3 K Simpson 3 L Whitnall 3 M Lappin 2 C Ackland A Bentick E Betts A Koutoufides.

BEST

Kangaroos: C Jones S Grant L Thomas B Harvey H McIntosh.
Carlton: B Fisher L Whitnall B Fevola K Simpson A Carrazzo.

INJURIES

Kangaroos: G Archer (personal reasons) replaced in selected side by K Green, B Moran (virus) replaced in selected side by S McMahon.
Carlton: B Fevola (corked leg) J Saddington (ankle) E Betts (hamstring).

Umpires: S McLaren C Kamolins S Meredith.

Official crowd: 11,649 at Gold Coast Stadium.