Brendan Fevola became only the third Carlton player to kick 500 goals as the Blues' re-discovered their kicking boots to thrash the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The Blues went into the clash coming off two successive defeats in which poor kicking for goal had proved costly but on Sunday everything Brett Ratten's team touched turned to gold as the disappointing Bulldogs' were swept aside 21.7 (133) to 13.12 (90).

The result means both teams now have three wins after five rounds but while the Blues' season is well and truly back on track and a first finals appearance since 2001 beckons on this form, the highly-rated Dogs have lost two in a row and face league leaders St Kilda in a Sunday twilight blockbuster next week at Etihad Stadium.

And given the unbeaten Saints are only the second team since 1911 to have a percentage greater than 200 after five rounds, the Bulldogs could be staring at three successive losses - something the club avoided throughout all of last season when it reached the preliminary final.

The Blues' 2009 season to date has been one of ups and downs after the team had been tipped to be the big improvers this season - it's membership campaign slogan remember was 'They know we are coming' - and after wins in the first fortnight over Richmond and Brisbane everything was on track.

But after recent losses to Essendon and Sydney, this match shaped as the biggest test yet of the Blues' supposed improvement in 2009.

And Brett Ratten's team passed it with flying colours.

The most pleasing aspect of the Blues' performance, apart from their much improved kicking for goal, was that this win over one of the AFL's best teams was not achieved on the back of skipper Chris Judd and vice-captain Nick Stevens.

Instead it was the Blues' young brigade led by their three No.1 draft picks in Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and ever-improving ruckman Matthew Kreuzer who were the team's prime movers while the club's often maligned defence held up superbly against one of the league's highest scoring teams with Bret Thornton, Paul Bower and the returning Michael Jamison all solid contributors.

And 2007 best and fairest winner Andrew Carazzo, in his first game for the season after breaking his arm in pre-season, did a disciplined job in limiting the influence of Bulldogs' playmaker Lindsay Gilbee while even Irish bad boy Setanta O'hAilpin made some telling contributions in his return match.

O'hAilpin even kicked a goal in the second term and celebrated with Cameron Cloke, the man whom he was suspended for punching and kicking during a pre-season match.

The Blues' could hardly have been more exciting on Sunday and finished off their good work in midfield with aplomb as the Bulldogs looked as though they had not recovered from last week's loss to West Coast in Perth - their second trip west in the first month.

After kicking 7.10 and 3.12 to half-time in the past fortnight, the Blues' slammed on 11.3 to the main break on Sunday to seize control of the game with Kade Simpson and Ryan Houlihan nailing three difficult set shots between them in the second term.

But even those great goals paled alongside Fevola's incredible snap over his shoulder early in the third term as he joined current club president Stephen Kernahan (738 goals) and Harry 'Soapy' Vallence (722 goals) as the only Carlton players to kick 500 career goals on a day to remember for Blues' fans.

WESTERN BULLDOGS: 1.6, 6.9, 10.10, 13.12 (90)
CARLTON: 4.1, 11.3, 15.7, 21.7 (133)

GOALS: Bulldogs: Johnson 4, Boyd 2, Giansiracusa 2, Higgins, Griffen, Hill, Picken, Hahn
Carlton: Fevola 3, Betts 3, Russell 2, Simpson 2, Cloke 2, Houlihan 2, Kreuzer 2, Murphy, O'hAilpin, Waite, Carazzo, Gibbs
BEST: Bulldogs: Higgins, Boyd, Johnson, Cross, Giansiracusa, Hill
Carlton: Murphy, Kreuzer, Gibbs, Houlihan, Carazzo, Simpson, Thornton
INJURIES: Bulldogs: Nil
Carlton: NJohnson (thigh)
UMPIRES: Vozzo, H Ryan, M Nicholls
REPORTS: Bulldogs: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
CROWD: 44,268 at Etihad Stadium