Richmond beats Carlton by 25 points as Dustin Martin leads Tigers to pulsating win over Blues at the MCG

Richmond have celebrated the unfurling of two premiership flags with a gritty 25-point victory over Carlton in an enthralling AFL season-opener at the MCG.

Recent clashes between the arch-rivals have been one-sided, with Richmond not losing to the Blues since 2013, but Carlton made the reigning premiers work to the end on Thursday night.

However, Richmond’s experience proved too strong as they pulled away late in every quarter to win 15.15 (105) to 11.14 (80) in front of 49,218 fans — the first crowd at an men’s AFL game in Victoria since 2019.

Carlton got within five points with seven minutes remaining when Michael Gibbons kicked his second goal but Richmond responded with three majors of their own to seal the game.

The Tigers did it…