• Richmond and Carlton have met in the opening round 13 times throughout league football history, with the Tigers winning four, losing eight and drawing one.
• Richmond has lost its past three opening round clashes with Carlton.
• Overall, Richmond and Carlton have met 207 times, with the Tigers winning 84, losing 121 and drawing two.
• In finals, however, it’s a vastly different story . . . Richmond and Carlton have met in 16 finals matches, with the Tigers winning 12, losing three and drawing one. The two teams have clashed in six Grand Finals, with Richmond winning four and losing two.
• Richmond’s highest-ever score in Round 1 is 25.24 (174) against Carlton 14.13 (97), in 1978 at the MCG. This was Dale ‘The Flea’ Weightman’s debut appearance for the Tigers.
• The most goals kicked by a Richmond player in Round 1 is nine, by Jack Titus against North Melbourne in 1938 at Punt Road.
• In opening round matches, Titus kicked four goals or more on 11 occasions.
• Richmond’s biggest Round 1 crowd is 87,043, against Carlton at the MCG in 2009.
• Richmond’s biggest opening round victory was 78 points, against North Melbourne at Punt Road in 1928 (14.15 to 2.9).
• Percy Bentley was captain-coach of Richmond’s 1934 premiership team and is the longest-serving captain in Tigerland history (168 games from 1932-40). He subsequently coached Carlton from 1941-55, guiding the Blues to two premierships.
• Four-time Richmond premiership coach Tommy Hafey made his league coaching debut with the Tigers in the opening round of the 1966 season, against Carlton at Princes Park. Richmond defeated Carlton by six points - 16.10 (106) to 14.16 (100) - in a controversial, nail-biting finish. The Richmond time-keeper pushed the button to sound the final siren, with the Tigers ahead by a goal, but it failed to blare. About five extra minutes were played, with each side scoring a goal, before field umpire Don Blew finally saw the time-keeper furiously waving his arms, and signalled the match was over.
• Brett Deledio’s father, Wayne, played one senior game for Carlton, in 1975.
• Wayne Harmes, the grandson of former Richmond coach Len Smith, is a Tiger supporter, despite the fact he played in three Carlton premiership sides during a stellar league career.
