Melbourne has arrested a recent form slide, with a tight 17-point win over Carlton at the MCG to open round 12 of the AFL.
In a scrappy encounter, the two sides struggled to fire in attack, with goals at a premium.
For Carlton, Harry McKay had a return to form, kicking three goals, but he played a largely lone hand as the Demons had enough in reserve to get the four competition points.
Gun midfielder Christian Petracca inspired Melbourne to a 8.13 (61) to 6.8 (44) victory as the beleaguered Blues' AFL season continues to freefall.
It came at a cost when Jake Bowey was substituted out during the third term on Friday night after an accidental knee to the head from teammate Jake Lever in a marking contest.
The Blues lost tall utility Jack Silvagni to a hip injury before halftime on their way to a seventh defeat in eight matches, pouring further heat on Michael Voss' side after another turbulent week.
Petracca shone in the absence of injured midfield partner Clayton Oliver, tallying 32 disposals, 18 contested possessions, eight clearances and a goal.
Jack Viney (20 disposals, seven clearances, six tackles) was also tough in the clinches as the Demons dominated clearances (38-29) and contested possession (148-122).
Ed Langdon (25 disposals), Trent Rivers (24) and Angus Brayshaw (24) won plenty of the ball and Bayley Fritsch (two) was the Demons' only multiple goal-kicker, while All-Australian defender Steven May blanketed Charlie Curnow (one goal) for most of the night.
McKay has endured an intense spotlight on his goal-kicking in recent weeks and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he slotted Carlton's first goal from a mark and snap in the pocket.
He started with two straight majors but got a little wayward later in the match, finishing with 3.2 and another shot that fell short when he chose to snap from 40 metres.
Melbourne livewire Kysaiah Pickett produced the highlight of a dour first half when he got a kick away between two Blues defenders and slotted a goal from a tight angle on the boundary line.
It helped the Demons to a 19-point lead at the main break, which grew to 23 during the third term.
Carlton twice slashed it back to 11 with three of the next four goals before Max Gawn's long bomb gave Melbourne breathing space in an error-riddled slugfest.
Adam Cerra (30 disposals, four clearances), Sam Docherty (26, four) and Patrick Cripps (23, five) fought against the tide for the Blues as Tom De Koning tried hard in a ruck battle with Gawn and Brodie Grundy.
The result put Melbourne (8-4) back on the right path after consecutive losses and extended Carlton's horror run, in which their only win over the last two months came against lowly West Coast.
The Blues (4-1-7) have posted five straight losses for the first time since the six-match streak in 2019 that brought down the axe on Brendon Bolton's time as coach.
Ladder
ABC/AAP
