Questions about the Blues' ability to kick a winning score in the post-Fevola era were answered emphatically, with nine players getting on the score sheet in the 18.12 (120) to 9.10 (64) win in front of 72,010 fans.
Setanta O'hAilpin, Eddie Betts and Chris Yarran found plenty of extra space to work in and capitalised with three goals each.
With skipper Chris Judd watching from the stands, Carlton's engine room didn't miss a beat.
Stand-in captain Andrew Carrazzo led the way with 40 possessions, while Heath Scotland (32 touches), Kade Simpson (28) and Brock McLean (26) were all prominent.
The Tigers simply couldn't get their hands on the ball for long stretches of the contest as evidenced by the lopsided possession count that saw Carlton gather 137 more disposals in the match.
Jarrad Waite was prominent early in his first match back from a knee reconstruction. The star swingman started up forward and booted the first goal of the game in an impressive first quarter.
Richmond had three debutants on the night and all were serviceable with Dustin Martin the pick with of the bunch picking up 18 possessions in his first game.
A repeat of last year's season-opening massacre was on the cards when the dominant Blues leaped out to an early 28-point lead.
The Tigers hit back, however, and gave themselves a chance with a stronger showing in the second term to cut Carlton's half-time lead to just 19 points.
But that was as close as Richmond came with the Blues coming to dominate the second half, kicking four goals to nil in the final term to kick 2010 off in emphatic fashion.
Richmond 4.2 7.6 9.8 9.10 (64)
Carlton 7.1 11.1 14.7 18.12 (120)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Morton 2, Deledio, Thomson, Hislop, Nason, Cousins
Carlton: O'hAilpin 3, Betts 3, Yarran 3, Murphy 2, Waite 2, Gibbs 2, McLean, Henderson, Simpson
BEST
Richmond: Deledio, Cotchin, Connors, Jackson, Riewoldt, Martin
Carlton: Carrazzo, Betts, Gibbs, Murphy, Kreuzer, Simpson, Yarran, Bower, Scotland
INJURIES
Richmond: Jackson (concussion)
Carlton: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, H. Ryan, S. Ryan
Official crowd: 72,010 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
