The transitional nature of football at VFL level means the make-up of teams can alter in a heartbeat.

The Tigers fielded 19 VFL-listed players against Carlton on Friday night, with Jacob Bauer, Sam Banks, Thomson Dow and Steely Green bringing the AFL flavour.

With most of the football world stationed 732km away in South Australia for Gather Round, Richmond and the Blues strutted their stuff under the glare of Friday night lights at Ikon Park.

With the city skyline as the backdrop, debutant Ben Bilston-McGillen snapped Richmond’s opening goal of the night and was swamped by his elated brethren.

The Bilston-McGillen fan club made the trek and let themselves be known every time the Tiger debutant was in the vicinity of the ball.

The Tigers fielder four debutants, with Luke Teal, Archie May and Lewis Hill joining Bilston-McGillen in donning the Yellow & Black for the first time.

Carlton registered the first major of the night via Paddy Dow, however the Tigers arrested the momentum, and injected speed into the game.

Once the ball breached the wing, the Tigers surged forward as chaos ensued.

James Trezise’s slicing left peg sent the canary yellow Sherrin to the teeth of goal, and it skidded through on the dew for Richmond’s second goal.

The dewy conditions led to fumbles and double grabs, with Richmond fighting and clawing its way to a five-point quarter-time lead.

Garrett McDonagh had a slight change in role this week, finding himself higher up the ground, which he seemed to enjoy after booting through a major from beyond the arc.

The goal was the Tigers’ third, and a fine way for them to start the second term.

The Blues hit back with back-to-back goals, snatching back the lead midway through the quarter.

Richmond had chances to reclaim the lead via Cam Olden and Green, however both shots slid past the wrong side of the goal post.

Green was ‘Johnny on the spot’ moments later, soccering through a goal from congestion on the goal line.

The Blues answered swiftly from the restart before Bilston-McGillen marked a hack kick forward inside 50.

The half-time siren sounded as the sturdy small forward was midway through his approach to goal, with his kick following a metre short and not registering a score.

Carlton took a seven-point lead into the main break, as the plucky Tigers made them earn every touch.

The sole goal kicked in the third term was another debutant, Archie May, who wrapped his sizeable hands around the ball deep in attack and importantly, kicked truly.

Both sides laid claims to having the lion’s share of momentum in the third quarter, however neither could inflict maximum damage on the scoreboard.

The Blues struck first in the final term, skipping out to a two-goal lead.

Richmond had chances to drag back the deficit and even hit the lead but couldn’t land the killer blow.

Carlton then kicked it’s second goal of the final term, and many would have thought that the Tigers would wilt.

Instead, these Richmond Men never gave up the ghost.

Cam Olden was set the task of standing Paddy Dow after the Carlton onballer helped himself to nine clearances in the first half, seven of them coming in the second term.

Olden restricted Dow to a solitary clearance after half-time and slotted a goal to keep Richmond’s heart beating.

The Blues jagged two goals in quick succession, but the Tigers were harder to kill than a cockroach, with goals to McDonagh and Lachie Johnson keeping Yellow & Black hope flickering.

As the final siren sounded, most players slumped to the turf in sheer exhaustion.

The result may not have gone in Richmond’s favour, however pride swelled following the effort of 23 young men that played in the fashion the jumper demands.

CARL  1.4       5.7       5.11     9.14 (68)

RICH   2.3       4.6       5.9       8.11 (59)

Goal Kickers:

Richmond: McDonagh (2), Trezise, Olden, May, Johnson, Green, Bilston-McGillen

Best Players: Bauer, Mutaz-El Nour, McDonagh, Dow, Olden, Cooper