Richmond captain Chris Newman has described last night’s loss to Carlton as a missed opportunity for his young team.

The Tigers put on a spirited display in the 2011 season-opener, fighting back from a 22-point half-time deficit to lead at three-quarter time, before being overrun in the final term.

“The most disappointing thing was that we had control of the game, and going into the last quarter we were really confident that we could do the job,” Newman said.

“A lot of errors that we made, particularly in the back half, cost us goals.  We had our opportunity going forward, but we probably wasted the ball a bit too much.

“But we could see the positives out of it.  I think we’ve come a long way in the last 12 months.”

Newman admitted the Blues had the better of the first half, but stressed the players never believed they were out of the contest.

“At half-time, we felt as though Carlton had their opportunities and they didn’t take them, and we thought that at some stage we’d get ours,” he said.

“The message at half-time was that when we got our opportunity, to nail it.

“We did that in the third, and I think we proved that we can string four or five goals together and get ourselves back into a game.”

Richmond’s next opponent is St Kilda, at the MCG on Friday, April 1. To purchase tickets, click here