Richmond beat Carlton by 27 points after a mad opening minute to the AFL season.

By the time Carlton recruit Liam Jones kicked the first goal of the season at a minute and 14 seconds into the first term, Richmond star Brett Deledio was on report and Blues forward Dale Thomas had a dislocated shoulder.

The Tigers recovered from a 23-point deficit early in the second term on Thursday night at the MCG and were too good for the Blues, winning 15.15 (105) to 11.12 (78) in front of 83,493 fans.

At Carlton’s season launch last month, coach Mick Malthouse provocatively said it was hard to see where his team would lose a game this season.

The Blues started much better, but they wasted too many chances in a scrappy match and lacked a strong enough counter-punch once Richmond rallied.

Deledio is certain to be suspended after he came off the centre square at the opening bounce and caught Simon White high with a bump.

The ball immediately went into Carlton’s attack, where Richmond first-gamer Kamdyn McIntosh tackled Thomas.

The Blues star’s bad run with injury continued when he went to ground heavily.

His left shoulder looked horrible as he immediately left the field.

The Carlton doctor was able to put the shoulder back in place quickly, but Thomas will have scans on Friday to determine how long he is out of action.

It was a big start to an impressive AFL debut for McIntosh, who was arguably best afield with 23 possessions.

Tigers key forward Jack Riewoldt kicked four goals, pointing to the sky after the first two.

That was for his cousin Madeleine, the sister of St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt, who died in February after a long illness.

Sam Lloyd also kicked four and former Geelong midfielder Taylor Hunt impressed in his first game for the Tigers.

One big win for Carlton was Simon White’s tag on Dustin Martin, who only had 13 possessions.