A late Richmond surge has delivered a fighting win over Hawthorn, as those two clubs and North Melbourne notched a victory each on the opening night of the AFL’s pre-season competition.

But the night came at a cost for the Tigers and Kangaroos, with North key defender Nathan Grima sustaining a knee injury and promising Richmond youngster Reece Conca facing a likely suspension for an off-the-ball incident.

The Tigers kicked the final two goals of the night to pip the Hawks by three points, 0.6.4 (40) to 0.5.7 (37), in Friday night’s last match at Etihad Stadium, with hard-working fringe player Matt White snapping the winning goal.

In the opener, the Kangaroos did the same to the Tigers when inexperienced key position player Robbie Tarrant kicked the winning goal in their 0.7.2 (44) to 0.6.5 (41) victory.

In between, last year’s preliminary finalists Hawthorn produced a stunning early burst against the Kangaroos, with Sam Mitchell and Lance Franklin dominating as the Hawks scored the first 38 points on the way to a 1.6.8 (53) to 0.4.4 (28) win.

The Hawks’ established players stood out in both of their matches, with ex-skipper Mitchell the top disposal-winner in both games.

Franklin turned on a show, mixing 11 touches with a goal in the win over the ‘Roos, then topping that with 11 more disposals and three second-half goals to almost lift his side to victory over the Tigers.

Classy youngster Matt Suckling was another to have a good night.

Earlier, Richmond would have been heartened by the strong performance of ex-Adelaide ruckman Ivan Maric against the Kangaroos, while Dustin Martin also starred.

But neither of those players took the field against the Hawks, with reigning best and fairest Trent Cotchin also rested for that match, in which Nathan Foley, Shane Tuck, Jeromey Webberley and Jake King picked up the slack superbly.

For the ‘Roos, Tarrant’s solid showing in attack against Richmond was a promising sign, while ex-skipper Brent Harvey was a strong performer in both of their matches.

But Grima’s injury, believed to be a strained medial ligament, was a major blow, particularly as his 2011 was badly hampered by back and finger injuries.

And in a concern for Richmond, Conca appeared to make high contact with North’s Leigh Adams in a collision which happened a long way from the ball.

The Kangaroo was subbed off after being assessed for concussion.