Carlton were already down their main man for their clash with Fremantle with skipper Patrick Cripps sidelined thanks to a foot injury and things got worse when they lost Charlie Curnow in the first quarter.
The emerging key forward went off with a knee injury mid-way through the first term following a solid bump from Docker Ethan Hughes.
Curnow, 22, was ruled out for the match, with Blues footy boss Brad Lloyd providing an update at quarter time.
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The young star is understood to have suffered a low grade medial strain to his right knee.
Charlie Curnow suffered a 'low grade medial' injury to his right knee, according to Carlton's head of football Brad Lloyd. #AFLFreoBlues pic.twitter.com/Ebx3kW0HuF
— AFL (@AFL) June 30, 2019
While not ideal, an expected 2-4 week absence isn't the worst of results for the Blues considering the nasty looking nature of the injury.
With Carlton down a man and on the wrong end of a five goals to nothing first quarter, their trip to Perth looked like getting ugly, though things turned around after the first change.
The Blues rallied to kick four goals in the second term, holding the home side to just the one to go into the main break down by 10 points.
That resurgence paved the way for one of the most exciting finishes of the season, the Blues eventually claiming a thrilling four-point win against the odds.
A familiar, clutch final term goal from Michael Walters looked to have the result safe, with the Dockers leading by 15 points before a rare Kade Simpson major kept the Blues' hopes alive.
Matthew Kennedy then got another one back from long range for the visitors before veteran Dale Thomas, either through serendipity or smarts, put Carlton in front with a soccer after a ball got over the back of the Freo defence.
The drama wasn't done there as Sam Switkowski mopped up a forward entry and snapped truly with a minute to play to put Freo back in front.
If the home fans felt they had the competition points lock up, former Carlton captain Marc Murphy had other ideas as he kept a cool head to sell a dummy and checkside through the match-winner.
MARC MURPHY YOU STAR!
— AFL (@AFL) June 30, 2019
The @gatorade Game Changer comes up clutch!#AFLFreoBlues pic.twitter.com/DLUj5blDNf
That results sees Carlton move off the bottom of the ladder, leapfrogging the Suns on percentage.
