Round 1, 2025

Carlton 5.4 34 7.8 50 8.9 57 9.15 69 Richmond 1.3 9 4.1 25 9.3 57 13.4 82
Venue:	MCG
Date:	Thursday,13 March 2025 (7.30 pm).
Result:	Lost by 13 points.
Crowd:	80,009
Goalkickers:	B. Kemp 1.2, M. Cottrell 1.2, Z. Williams 1.1, J. Silvagni 1.1, H. McKay 1.1, S. Walsh 1.0, L. Cowans 1.0, B. Acres 1.0, F. Evans 1.0, J. Motlop 0.2, S. Docherty 0.2, P. Cripps 0.1, Rushed 0.3.
Reports:	Tom Lynch (Richmond) was charged with rough conduct striking Carlton’s Tom De Koning during the second quarter.The incident has been graded as careless conduct, medium impact, and high contact - 1 match suspension.
Umpires:	Daniel Johanson, Robert O'Gorman, Cameron Dore, Jacob Mollison.
Injuries:	Nil.
Ladder:	13th.

Game Review

Blues fade against Tigers

Carlton let a strong first half slip in a 13-point defeat to Richmond. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media.

Carlton let a strong first half slip in a 13-point defeat to Richmond. Opening the season in front of 80,009 people at the MCG, the Blues burst out of the blocks but let a 40-point lead turn into a 14-point deficit come the final siren in a wasteful second half. It was unsurprisingly a hot start at the MCG after a long pre-season for both clubs, with the Blues getting the upper hand in the contested possession battle to open proceedings - always a good sign for those wearing Navy Blue. A forward-half turnover won by Blake Acres ensured the Blues were on the board for season 2025, while big cheers were reserved from Carlton fans in the crowd for Lucas Camporeale’s first disposal and Jack Silvagni in his return game.

The Blues had the hot hand early, with newly permanent forward Brodie Kemp jagging his first goal at the MCG, before Francis Evans produced an opportunistic finish for his opening major in Navy Blue. It was a highly efficient term going forward for the Blues in terms of generating shots on goal, with over 50 per cent of their forward entries resulting in scores: only inaccuracy - kicking 5.4 - prevented them from having a greater lead than 27 points at the first change. The trend from the first quarter continued in the second, with Carlton’s midfield getting on top. Adam Cerra had a brilliant first half, with nobody eclipsing his 16 first-quarter disposals, while he was typically supported by Patrick Cripps, George Hewett, Cooper Lord and Sam Walsh.

It was a familiar combination for the Blues’ seventh goal of the game when Cripps combined with Walsh: it was Cripps’ second goal assist in a matter of minutes, opening up a 40-point lead for the Blues. To that point, the Blues had been outstanding in the clinches (51 contested possessions), and had seven individual goalkickers for seven goals. After making their debut together in this game two years ago, Lachie Cowan and Ollie Hollands produced an inspired five minutes, with Cowan producing his second career goal from long range while Hollands’ back-with-the-flight contest drew the acclaim of the MCG crowd. Four of the Blues’ first seven goals came from clearances in the opening half, demonstrating the damage being done from the middle. As is always the case when these two sides meet in Round 1, both team got their moments, and Richmond wasn’t going down without a fight in front of a capacity crowd - the Tigers kicked three straight goals to bring the margin back to 25 points at the main change, narrowly getting the edge over the Blues for the term. The co-vice captain led the way, with Jacob Weitering hauling in seven marks (five intercept, two contested) behind the ball.

Richmond had its tail up heading into quarter three, and when No.1 pick Sam Lalor converted from the goal line, the margin was back to 11 points, and the Blues were without a goal since the 16-minute mark of the second term. Bobbing up for his first goal of the season, it was Harry McKay who was the steadying hand, linking with Kemp to reinstate the Blues’ three-goal buffer. However the Tigers wouldn’t go away, kicking the next three goals - including one on the siren - to level the scores at three-quarter time. Subbed on at three-quarter time for Lord (tactical), Sam Docherty nearly made an instant impact if not for his right-footed snap hitting the inside of the post, before some costly errors meant the Tigers kicked the opening three goals of the final term: to that point, it meant Richmond had kicked 11 of the game’s last 12 goals. Silvagni swung forward with immediate impact to get the Blues back in the game, as the Blues needed something special to overcome a spirited Richmond outfit. The Blues pressed but it wasn’t to be, with a late Seth Campbell goal meaning Carlton fell to its first Round 1 defeat since 2021.

Best: B. Acres, M. Cottrell, L. Cowan, F. Evans, B. Kemp, H. McKay, J. Silvagni, S. Walsh, Z. Williams.

Comeback Tiger kings: Blues stunned in all-time upset.

The Tigers have stunned the Blues in a huge upset at the MCG. - By Sarah Black at the MCG.

It's not the despair, it's the hope. It's what drives players, supporters and coaches through the long summer months. Hope that this year, just maybe, things will be a little different, or not quite as grim as they appear. That the kid is going to be all right. That maybe, Richmond might string together five goals in a row over the second and third terms to haul itself back into the contest against the much more fancied Carlton, which had led by 41 points in the second. That the enthusiasm of youth might hassle and harry and chase and panic defenders into silly mistakes, and that the young backman with the laser kick, Tom Brown, would show nerves of steel to tie the game after the three-quarter time siren. That the No.1 pick, Sam Lalor, heralded as the club's next generational player before he'd stepped on the MCG, might put Richmond in front for the first time all match with his second goal at the start of the fourth. And that maybe, just maybe, the side which some suggested could go winless all season, would cling on for dear life, and secure a defining win against the old foe, celebrated with a Seth Campbell handstand-into-backflip. The exuberance of youth. It's not the despair, it's the hope. For the record – Richmond defeated Carlton by 13 points in front of 80,009 at the MCG, 13.4 (82) to 9.15 (69).

For Carlton, this year is all about staking its claim as one of the top teams of the competition, the first-half elimination final capitulation to eventual premier Brisbane having burned a hole in the back of minds all summer. Hopefully it's just round one sloppiness, but the Blues left much to be desired. Jacob Weitering was simply superb in defence in the first half, snatching up everything that came his way against a very rusty Tom Lynch, while Patrick Cripps shook off a Kamdyn McIntosh tag as unusual as the bald man's headband. The pair even contested a centre bounce as rucks, such was the weirdness in the air. Carlton champion Sam Docherty was the starting sub, and came on at three-quarter time to good effect, providing some run to a flatfooted side, but 1.6 in the final quarter was the final nail in the coffin. Jacob Blight played a strong first half in defence – his fourth game at the top level – before being subbed out with a tight groin, the Blues' relatively short forward line meaning coach Adem Yze backed in his other talls to manage.

Lynch in MRO strife, already?
Richmond can ill-afford to lose Tom Lynch, with the next cab off the rank being Samson Ryan. But the "godfather" of the forward line (as anointed by Adem Yze) will be sweating on the Match Review findings, catching Tom De Koning high as he went to bump the Carlton ruck. De Koning spent some time on the bench after the second-quarter incident, but played out the game.

Covering Charlie
While superstar forward Charlie Curnow is due back next week after a minor knee clean out, the Blues had to cover the absence of both the key forward and ruck Marc Pittonet (calf). De Koning played as a full-time ruck (with cover from Cripps), while Brodie Kemp was effectively Carlton's second tall forward alongside Harry McKay.

Best: P. Cripps, J. Weitering, T. De Koning, S. Walsh, A. Cerra.

Voss 'not going to sugar coat it'

Blues coach Michael Voss was left disappointed after Carlton's loss to the Tigers. - By Sarah Black, AFL Media.

Fundmental skill errors and struggling under pressure cost Carlton dearly in its shock 13-point loss to Richmond, according to coach Michael Voss. Voss wasn't dancing around the issues which faced his team, which led by 41 points in the second term against an unheralded and rebuilding Tigers side. "It was pretty disappointing. Yeah, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. To be in the position that we were in early in the match and give up that lead and that position was – yeah, couldn't be more disappointed," Voss said. "As the game went, you could sort of see clearly Richmond were gathering more energy. As they're gathering it, sometimes you've just got to stay in that fight when things aren't working for you, and we just weren't prepared to stay in that fight. "Through error, through inefficiency, they were able to claw their way back, through probably increasing their pressure and capitalising on our mistakes and being a little bit inefficient when we went inside 50, so that was really disappointing. "But the momentum in the game was certainly against us towards the second half, but what was it, nine goals to two in the second half? It shouldn't have happened that way." Asked if his players had taken wooden spoon fancy Richmond too lightly, Voss was assertive. "Gee, I really hope not, because humility has been a significant thing for us," he said. "It may be talked about externally, but there's never a comment about where an opposition team are, other than it's round one. It's a start of the season. Everyone's got hope. Everyone believes they're a chance and you roll into round one and anything can happen. "We also know the history of these games, Carlton versus Richmond in round one, they're close. So no matter wherever people have proposed that we're estimated where the teams have been, and how they've projected to be at the end of the season, the reality is, these games have been close. And gee, I would hope that wasn't the case. I really would." Voss said Carlton will regain star forward Charlie Curnow (knee) for next Thursday night's blockbuster against Hawthorn, and remains hopeful Orazio Fantasia (calf) will also be cleared to play.

Carlton needs to tidy up under pressure - and fast

Richmond is far from the most talented side Carlton will face this season, but in the face of youthful pressure and enthusiasm on Thursday night, the Blues wilted. There will be a number of senior players dreading their individual edits, with basic kicks flubbed, wrong decisions made at crucial moments and 1.6 kicked in the final term of the shock loss at the MCG. Disposal efficiency isn't the be-all and end-all, and messy footy can be just as effective as clean footy, but only three Blues sat above 80 per cent in that stat compared to 10 Tigers. The 'Blue-print' has now been laid out for future opponents, and unless Carlton can quickly address its "mental mastery" like Richmond (in the words of Adem Yze), it's going to cost the team dearly this year. – Sarah Black

Team

B:	1 Jack Silvagni	23 Jacob Weitering	11 Mitch McGovern
HB:	42 Adam Saad	26 Nick Haynes	2 Lachlan Cowan
C:	13 Blake Acres	9 Patrick Cripps (c)	21 Lucas Camporeale
HF:	18 Sam Walsh	17 Brodie Kemp	46 Matt Cottrell
F:	6 Zac Williams	10 Harry McKay	44 Francis Evans
Ruck:	12 Tom De Koning	5 Adam Cerra	29 George Hewett
Interchange:	4 Ollie Hollands	36 Cooper Lord	3 Jesse Motlop
	8 Lachie Fogarty
Substitute:	15 Sam Docherty
Coach:	Michael Voss
Emergencies:	33 Lewis Young	32 Matt Carroll	38 Will White

Substitute: Sam Docherty (replaced Cooper Lord at three-quarter time)

Free Kicks

Carlton 16
Richmond 18

Front Runners

Matt Cottrell 15.7km
Sam Walsh 15.7km
Oliver Hollands 15.7km
Lucas Camporeale 15.4km

Milestones

Debut: Lucas Camporeale
Debut (Carlton): Francis Evans, Nick Haynes
First Goal (Carlton): Francis Evans

Interesting Facts

1. It was exactly 600 days since Jack Silvagni played his last game with the Blues due to injury.

AFLCA Votes

9 - Toby Nankervis (RICH)
9 - Jack Ross (RICH)
4 - Jacob Weitering (CARL)
3 - Tom De Koning (CARL)
2 - Ben Miller (RICH)
2 - Tim Taranto (RICH)
1 - Nick Vlastuin (RICH)

Brownlow Votes

Best and Fairest Votes

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2025 | Round 2