Sitting second on the ladder heading into the final round of the season, the Hawks made three changes for the clash with the 11th-placed Blues, bringing in Luke Hodge, Xavier Ellis and Robert Campbell.
Former skipper Shane Crawford, ruckman Simon Taylor and small forward Cameron Stokes were the trio to miss, while all the talk heading into the match surrounded spearhead Lance Franklin, who needed only two goals to reach 100 for the season, with Carlton counterpart Brendon Fevola himself also sitting on 92.
QT: Livewire forward Cyril Rioli got the Hawks on the board early with a scintillating goal from 40 metres out on the boundary, while teammate Jordan Lewis followed up his good work with a goal of his own only a minute later.
The Blues hit back with two of their own in quick succession, before the returning Hodge edged them in front with a running goal from long range.
It may have taken until the 22-minute mark, but Franklin landed a much-anticipated first goal after making strongly against opponent Paul Bower.
Going back and slotting the set shot, the goal took Franklin to 99 before minutes later Rioli spotted the 21-year-old on his own in the forward pocket.
The ground’s security lined the boundary, bracing for the crowd to swarm the pending centurion, as Franklin lined-up for an historic goal.
Only 30 metres out, Franklin kicked truly, securing 100 goals in a home and away season for the first time since Tony Lockett cracked the ton in 1998, with fans flooding the oval in jubilation.
The stadium eventually set back to normal, the Hawks got back to work as Rioli set up forward Mark Williams for a late goal, pushing their lead to a comfortable 25-points.
HT: It was Williams who again got the Hawks going, while Campbell Brown also hit the scoreboard.
On top through the middle of the ground thanks to the contested work of Sam Mitchell and Brad Sewell, the Hawks continued to steam ahead with ruckman Robert Campbell getting in on the action, while Williams also nailed a third, giving the Hawks an ominous 38-point lead.
3QT: So far goalless, Fevola landed the first goal of the second half before a blitz of three goals in as many minutes by the Hawks – two to Brown, one to Franklin – looked to have put the contest to bed, with the margin sitting at 51 points.
Despite the deficit, Fevola continued to provide an effective target for the Blues, kicking three more to bring his season total to 96 before goals to Sewell, Michael Osbourne and Chance Bateman closed out the quarter.
FT: While all the limelight had so far belonged to Franklin and Fevola, fellow key forward Jarryd Roughead looked to join the party having failed to trouble the scorers.
It took the power forward just 94 seconds to land his first in the final term, before grabbing a second minutes later.
Fevola edged even closer to an unlikely century, kicking his fifth for the night, before a third goal also came Roughead’s way.
Osbourne and Franklin pushed the margin further beyond reach, while Roughead looked to catch both spearheads as he nailed another with a long bomb out of a stoppage.
A free kick in the goal square handed Fevola his 99th with only minutes remaining in the term, while an on-fire Roughead snagged a fifth after again marking strongly, directly in front.
Time however would ultimately run out for Fevola, with the Hawks giving themselves the perfect lead-in to finals with a massive 78-point victory, setting up a qualifying final clash with the Western Bulldogs.
Carlton 2.3 4.5 8.6 12.9 (81)
Hawthorn 6.4 10.7 16.13 24.15 (159)
GOALS
Carlton: Fevola 7, Gibbs 2, Cloke, Judd, Russell,
Hawthorn: Roughead 5, Franklin 4, Williams 3, Brown 3, Osborne 3, Rioli, Lewis, Hodge, Campbell, Sewell, Bateman
BEST
Carlton: Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Fevola, Thornton, Walker, Bentick
Hawthorn: Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Sewell, Birchall, Brown, Roughead
INJURIES
Carlton: Scotland (hip), Carrazzo (knee) replaced in selected side by Austin, Pfeiffer
Hawthorn: Stokes (gastro) replaced in selected side by Ellis, Williams (hip)
REPORTS
Carlton: N Stevens (by emergency umpire K Nicholls for wrestling C Bateman)
Hawthorn: C Bateman (by emergency umpire K Nicholls for wrestling N Stevens)
Umpires: Kennedy, Stevic, McLaren
Official crowd: 49,057 at Telstra Dome
