Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton has made himself a hero on an otherwise “horror” night, kicking the go-ahead goal to sink Carlton in an AFL thriller on Friday night.

Naughton had struggled for almost the entire night at Marvel Stadium, with just five disposals in a frustrating night littered with errors and missteps.

But when it’s not your night, as they say, it can still be your moment.

And it was for the big left-footer, who won a free kick inside the Dogs’ forward 50 with less than five minutes on the clock and slotted a clutch goal to put his side back in front.

Minutes later, James O’Donnell kicked the sealer for the Dogs, ensuring an incredible comeback win, despite trailing for 108 minutes of the match.

Naughton looked defeated 20 minutes into the last quarter, having blown a chance in the forward 50 before being out-marked once by Nick Haynes.

“He’s had a horror night,” Alister Nicholson said after one of Naughton’s blunders.

Earlier in the night, legendary coach Mick Malthouse suggested coach Luke Beveridge move Naughton to the other end of the ground.

“Naughton is not a worth a cold pie in the forward line at the moment,” he said.

“Put him to centre half back and put Lobb to full forward. They haven’t got a logical match up for him there either. Its got to be worth a try.”

But the 25-year-old proved his doubters wrong when it mattered most.

“That was his moment, Naughton,” Matthew Richardson said when he kicked the go-ahead goal.

The loss continued a concerning trend for Carlton, who have kicked a combined eight goals in second halves across their three games in 2025.

Carlton captain Patrick Cripps was well held for most of the night, and suffered a huge knock to the hip when he flew for a mark during the third quarter.

Star Blues ruck Tom De Koning was arguably best on ground, while emerging forward Brodie Kemp kicked a career-high five goals, including what could have been the match-winner.

Star forward Charlie Curnow responded after a poor game against Hawthorn, kicking three goals, but the task was left to too few for the Blues.

Mature-aged recruit Sam Davidson (31 disposals), in just his third AFL game, was superb along with stand-in captain Tom Liberatore, who rallied after being well held early.

Carlton subbed off Zac Williams in the second quarter for Jordan Boyd after the forward experienced achilles soreness.

It will be a concern for the Blues, with Williams having ruptured his achilles in 2018 when he played for GWS.

Williams suffered an ACL injury in 2023, and has battled soft-tissue problems since arriving at Carlton ahead of the 2021 season.

In a positive sign for the Bulldogs, troubled young gun Jamarra Ugle-Hagan attended the match with his teammates, only a week after he skipped the club’s 100th anniversary game to be at the pub instead.

Ugle-Hagan has been given a flexible training schedule until he can fully commit to the program again and remains sidelined indefinitely.

Carlton face arch-rivals Collingwood on Thursday night in another monster match, while the Bulldogs travel to Optus Stadium to play Fremantle next Sunday.

- With AAP