‘Cannot believe it’: 51-year first stuns footy as season opens with draw

The AFL season has opened with high drama as Richmond and Carlton were left deadlocked when the final siren went.

Tom Lynch was the hero. Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

How good is it to have footy back!

Carlton and Richmond have drawn for the first time in 51 years in a stunning blockbuster to start the 2023 AFL season.

Richmond tied it up in the final 20 seconds when Tom Lynch took a massive pack mark and went back and slotted a goal.

Carlton went forward in the final frantic 15 seconds but couldn’t find the behind they needed.

With Richmond kept goalless for most of the fourth quarter, it was Lynch’s solo effort that saw them draw level at 8.10 (58) to 8.10 (58).

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Tom Lynch stood tall. Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Players from both sides didn’t know what to do. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images.

The result left the footy world in awe after Richmond found something extra in the tank to come back from seven points down in the final dying minutes.

Both teams held ascendancy at different times in the rollercoaster battle with Richmond taking a five-point lead into the final term.

The Tigers had come from 14-points down at half time and took the lead with three unanswered goals late in the third term.

That hollow feeling. Blake Acres of the Blues drops his head. Pic: Michael Klein.

Tom Lynch delivered. Pic: Michael Klein.

In the end the contest came down to one sweet swing of Lynch’s boot.

“They cannot believe it,” Channel 7’s James Brayshaw said.

Brian Taylor said in commentary: “This is nuts”.

Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt looked completely deflated when speaking to Fox Footy straight after the game.

“Everyone is a bit flat as shark s*** at the moment,” he said.

“We felt we played the game on our terms… but we probably didn’t make the most of our opportunities tonight.”

Riewoldt now holds the record for most draws experienced by an AFL player in the history of the game with eight draws across the 34-year-old’s career.

Carlton fans must have been dreaming of a nail-biting season-opening win when Sam Docherty kicked a bomb from outside the 50m arc to put them back in front early in the fourth quarter.

However, there were few spectators among the crowd of 88,084 — the second biggest Round 1 crowd ever — who would say the four points didn’t deserve to be shared.