Carlton had to rely on Fremantle losing to qualify for the 2024 AFL finals series.
The Blues suffered the ultimate heartbreak as they coughed up a gilt-edged chance to seal a second-straight finals berth with a win over St Kilda on Sunday.
Sitting precariously at eighth on the ladder with 52 points, two more than Fremantle’s 50, the Blues could have ended the finals race if they beat the Saints to open up a six-point buffer over the Dockers in the last round of the season.
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But they will still play finals after enduring the most nervous of waits to see Port Adelaide beat Fremantle in the last game of the season, which completed a rollercoaster day of emotions and has locked them into an elimination final in Brisbane against the Lions.
The Blues trailed for most of the day but had hit the front late in the game and tried to hang on.
Mattaes Phillipou had the chance to sink Carlton fans’ hearts with a set shot from directly in front that would have put the Saints up by one point with just over a minute left on the clock, but missed.
But the Blues hadn’t got out of jail yet, with Saints small forward Jack Higgins snapping a miracle goal with just seconds left in their season to win the heart-stopping game.
Higgins put the Saints back in front in a pulsating contest when his right-foot snap floated through with 12 seconds left.
The Blues had one last foray forward but Zak Jones smothered Elijah Hollands before Lachlan Cowan’s follow-up kick inside-50 missed his target as the siren sounded.
The Blues trailed by as much as 20 points in the third quarter but stayed in touch and made all the running in a desperate final term.
Goals to Ashton Moir and Jesse Motlop put them in front before defender-turned-forward Brodie Kemp missed a set shot that could have sealed the match with two minutes left
Phillipou missed in similar fashion at the other end, seemingly letting Carlton off the hook.
But Higgins struck in the frantic final stages.
Minutes earlier, the pint-sized Saint looked in trouble after a heavy dump tackle from Matt Owies, which resulted in a free-kick to Carlton.
Blues skipper Patrick Cripps (30 disposals, seven clearances) and Sam Walsh (32, nine) were massive for their side but couldn’t haul them over the line.
Blake Acres kicked two goals for Carlton, a tally matched by Mason Wood, Jack Higgins and Tim Membrey for St Kilda.
Nasaiah Wanganeen-Milera (25 disposals) shone for the Saints.
In an ugly side story, goal umpire Steven Piperno was struck in the head by a bottle thrown from the crowd and had to be replaced by emergency Chelsea Roffey during the second term.
– With AAP