Richmond has kicked off its 2015 campaign with an impressive 27-point win over arch-rival Carlton, in front of 83,493 fans at the MCG.
 
The Tigers were sluggish early in the match but got better as it wore on, controlling the contest after quarter time.
 
The win was highlighted by the performances of Club’s two new faces, the experienced Taylor Hunt and first-gamer Kamdyn McIntosh.
 
Hunt’s was a four-quarter game, where he amassed a game-high 27 possessions, five tackles and eight marks, while McIntosh ran hard all day and finished with 23 possessions.
 
Jack Riewoldt booted four goals and collected 17 disposals and eight marks in a strong performance up forward.
 
Brandon Ellis finished with 26 disposals, including 18 in the second half, while Anthony Miles won 23 touches.
 
The action-packed opening moments lived up to the pre-match billing, with Brett Deledio reported and Dale Thomas leaving the field – and being substituted - with a dislocated shoulder.
 
When the dust settled, Liam Jones kicked the first goal of the game from a goalmouth scrimmage, and Ben Griffiths opened his account soon after from a set shot.
 
A stalemate ensued for the next 15 minutes, before Bryce Gibbs put through a long-range goal as Carlton started to get on top in general play.
 
Another Griffiths set shot, in between two Blues’ major, and the margin was 16 points at quarter time.
 
On debut, Kamdyn McIntosh started brightly with eight disposals in the opening stanza.
 
Carlton booted two of the first three goals of the second term to extend the lead to over 20 points, with a Dustin Martin dribbler keeping the Yellow and Black in the contest.
 
From there, the Tigers turned the tide, hitting the scoreboard 10 times in a row.
 
The first came from McIntosh, who gathered the ball off the hands of the pack and kicked an impressive running goal – his first in AFL football.
 
Goals to Jack Riewoldt, Shaun Grigg and Sam Lloyd took Richmond to a seven-point lead at the main break.
 
The third quarter belonged to Richmond, who kicked the only two goals from Riewoldt and Lloyd.  Brandon Ellis sprung to life in that term, collecting 13 disposals.
 
Riewoldt kicked his third and fourth goals for the evening to start the final quarter, though goals to Troy Menzel and Kade Simpson kept the Blues in touch.
 
But the Tigers finished strongly to collect their first four points of the season.
 
 
Final scores:
Richmond            2.3          7.10        9.13        15.15. 105
Carlton                 4.7          6.9          6.12        11.12. 78
 
Goals:
Richmond – Riewoldt 4, Lloyd 3, Griffiths 3, Grigg 2, Martin, McIntosh, Gordon
Carlton – Jones 2, Menzel 2, Rowe 2, Tuohy, Gibbs, Jaksch, Bell, Simpson

Best:
Richmond - McIntosh, Hunt, Riewoldt, Rance, Ellis, Vlastuin
Carlton - Docherty, Simpson, Bell, Menzel, Judd