Tigers survive scare to defeat Blues
Richmond survive a huge scare from upstart Carlton to win season-opener by nine points in front of 75,706 fans at the MCG.
PT1M30S 620 349RICHMOND 4.1 7.2 10.6 14.8 (92) CARLTON 4.4 5.7 11.9 12.11 (83)
Goals: Richmond: T Vickery 3, C Menadue 2, J Riewoldt 2, S Lloyd 2, A Miles, C Ellis, K Lambert, N Vlastuin, S Edwards. Carlton: M Wright 3, A Everitt 2, A Phillips, A Walker, B Gibbs, J Lamb, M Kreuzer, M Murphy, P Cripps.
BEST Richmond: K Lambert, T Vickery, S Lloyd, A Rance, B Ellis, J Riewoldt, D Martin Carlton: M Murphy, B Gibbs, P Cripps, M Wright, S Kerridge, N Graham.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Andrew Mitchell, Craig Fleer.
Official Crowd: 75,706 at MCG.
March is too early to win a premiership, but it's time enough to lose one. For Richmond, this truism was fast materialising on Thursday night. The Tigers, rightly a top-four aspirant in 2016, stared down an MCG nightmare, with only a final-term flurry seeing Damien Hardwick's men home against last year's wooden-spooners Carlton.
Eyes front: Ben Griffiths of the Tigers (left) and Matthew Kreuzer of the Blues compete for the ball. Photo: Getty Images
Ten points behind early in the final quarter, Richmond were spared blushes by unheralded goalsneak Sam Lloyd. His two final quarter snaps — bookended by goals to Jack Riewoldt and Anthony Miles — prevented a monumental upset in front of 75,706, as the Tigers clawed home by nine points.
There had been great optimism emanating from Carlton during the off-season, but few Blues fans could have predicted the rewards would come so quickly. After a hellish 2015, Carlton had wanted to turn a new page, and none of their five newcomers let the club down on their first start. Sam Kerridge had shown plenty in the pre-season, but while he was again impressive, it was his ex-Adelaide teammate Matthew Wright, whose three third-quarter majors almost put the game beyond Richmond's reach, who was even better.
If there was a moment that summed up the mood for most of the night, it was late in the third quarter, as Carlton's No. 1 draft pick Jacob Weitering outmarked Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin. The symbolism was clear: the new Blues were proving too much for the old Tigers.
Getting down but not dirty: Sam Lloyd of the Tigers tackles Marc Murphy of the Blues. Photo: Getty Images
The previous fortnight had been a bad one for Richmond. The Tigers had lost Brett Deledio, Reece Conca, Ivan Maric, Shaun Grigg and Chris Yarran. It showed, with few in the yellow and black able to make an imprint for large portions of the night.
Carlton's midfield justified its reputation as the Blues' strongest division. In a head-to-head battle of the skippers, Marc Murphy trounced Cotchin. Patrick Cripps again showed why he is among the game's brightest stars, while Bryce Gibbs was at his vibrant best.
There was no shortage of early intensity from Brendon Bolton's team. Their tackling was noticeably zealous. But their major failing in the first term was being over the top. Gibbs charged unnecessarily at Kane Lambert, gifting the Tigers the season's first goal. It was one of three 50m penalties given away by the Blues, who, with a bit more finesse and accuracy, would have led by more than three points at the first change.
Hands off: Sam Kerridge of the Blues gives away a free kick after grasping Jack Riewoldt of the Tigers round the neck. Photo: Getty Images
Richmond surged in the second term, as Ty Vickery momentarily took control inside 50, slotting two of his three goals for the evening, and overturning an 11-point second term deficit. Still the Blues came after half-time, sparking nervous moments for the Tigers' faithful. Had it not been for the likes of Lambert and Dustin Martin, there might have been a few more membership cards strewn around Melbourne's streets on Friday morning.
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