The Western Bulldogs' defence has suffered another blow, losing young gun Jason Johannisen to a hamstring injury.
The setback soured a regulation 36-point AFL win for the Bulldogs on Saturday night over Carlton at Etihad Stadium.
It comes a week after they lost captain and defensive general Bob Murphy for the rest of the season with a knee injury that will need a reconstruction.
Johannisen snapped a goal from outside 50m nine minutes into the third term of the 13.7 (85) to 7.7 (49) win.
But he immediately clutched the top of the back of his right leg and was in distress as he limped from the field.
Johannisen has blazing speed and had been one of the Bulldogs' best in their 3-1 start to the season.
Ruck-forward Tom Boyd also came off in the last term with a shoulder injury.
Murphy was a spectator as the Bulldogs' superior skill propelled them to a 51-point lead in the third quarter.
Any errors from the young Carlton side were pounced on and often ended up as turnover goals.
The free kick count also infuriated Blues fans - at one point in the third term it was 23-5 in the Bulldogs' favour and ended up 30-13 for the match.
It was a physical clash, with Bulldogs onballer Lin Jong reported for high contact on Patrick Cripps.
Blues captain Marc Murphy spent plenty of time off the field in the second half because of a head gash.
Carlton closed out the game well, reducing the lead to 43 points at three-quarter time and winning the last quarter.
Bulldogs midfielder Lachie Hunter and defender Shane Biggs were their best, while GWS recruit Lachie Plowman shut down star forward Jake Stringer in his first game for Carlton.
Coach Luke Beveridge said they were unsure about the severity of Johannisen's injury, but admitted it would probably be more than a standard two-week absence.
"We're not too sure whether it's tendon or the belly (of the hamstring)," Beveridge said.
He added Boyd would also need a scan after subluxing his right shoulder, which was already strapped.
Matt Suckling had to go to the dressing rooms when he rolled his ankle, but returned and played out the game.
"It was great courage from Matty Suckling ... I thought he was enormous tonight," Beveridge said.
"We couldn't afford to lose another high defender."
Beveridge bemoaned their rotten injury luck, adding that Josh Prudden suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier on Saturday in the VFL.
"Someone ran over a black cat, unfortunately," he said.
"We're really proud of the boys' effort tonight, because we were under some duress.
"We held our nerve enough, we just squandered some opportunities."
The Blues revealed Marc Murphy was ill at halftime and suffered a head gash in the third term, but no concussion.
"Our supporters should be happy with our effort," said Blues coach Brendon Bolton, whose team is winless after four games.
"We hung tough and that's really important for this group."
For Carlton, they were left with four losses from four starts and languishing at the back of the pack.
But coach Brendon Bolton believes there are signs of life within the side, especially after they rallied from a 51-point deficit to fall just 36-points short.
"Our supporters should be happy with our effort," he said.
"I should say the Bulldogs' second quarter was some really serious footy, so we're disappointed with how we handled that.
"But we hung tough and that's really important for this group.
"Typically ... we probably lacked a bit of polish, but the foundation of effort and hanging tough is there."
The Blues' defence was solid, led by Kade Simpson and Sam Docherty.
GWS recruit Lachie Plowman made an immediate impression in his Carlton debut, shutting down Bulldogs star Jake Stringer.
But Bolton admits their attack needs polish.
They only kicked seven goals on Saturday night and their highest total so far this season is 83.
Carlton fans were ropeable with the 13-30 free kick count and Bolton was diplomatic, saying he would see whether his players are at fault.
"I will look at those closely and it could be our discipline," he said.
"The free kick discrepancy was too large for our liking, so I have to look at the 'why'."
Star midfielder Patrick Cripps still had nine clearances, but he struggled at times against some strong attention from the 'Dogs.
"We have to have high expectations on him, because he's a really good player, but we also have to be a little bit measured," Bolton said.
"He's played, I don't know, 30 games and it's really easy to forget that.
"He'll learn how to deal with opposition ... it's a privilege that guys are going to him and he should look at it that way."
Captain Marc Murphy was off for much of the second half with a head gash and the Blues also revealed that he was physically ill at halftime.