AFL round 1 Richmond vs. Carlton: Sam Lalor leads Tiger cubs to famous Blues boilover

Footy fans were quick to anoint Sam Lalor the next Dustin Martin. He’s got an eternity to go, but Glenn McFarlane notes, the comparisons after one game are uncanny.

Fifteen years on from the corresponding round when a kid called Dustin Martin played his first game for Richmond, a new star was born in yellow and black on Thursday night.

And Adem Yze’s Tiger cubs produced one of the biggest boilovers in recent footy history in front of 80,000 fans, delivering the ultimate banana-skin slip-up for an embarrassed Carlton, who went into the game as overwhelming $1.04 favourites.

How’s that for aura?

Last year’s No. 1 draft pick Sam Lalor kicked two scene-setting goals, produced more than a few ‘don’t argues’ and had 18 disposals in a memorable debut that Richmond fans won’t forget in a hurry.

There was a touch of symmetry about the number 18. Martin and Lalor were both 18 when they played their first game with Richmond and each of them had 18 disposals on debut.

In Martin’s case, the Blues blew the 2010 Tigers away by 56 points, but Lalor and his teammates orchestrated a round 1 hit on the Blues, outscoring them by nine goals to two in the last half to seal a memorable 13-point win.

No team in VFL-AFL history has gone through a season without a win in the past sixty years – not since Fitzroy in 1964 – but plenty of pundits were freely tipping that Yze’s team could score a slice of unwarranted history.

Sam Lalor was right in the thick of Richmond’s famous win. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

That prediction didn’t even last one round of footy. And no opposition club for the remainder of the season will want to take Yze’s team lightly, not when the brave youngsters played with such dare and the older, more experienced cool heads seem to have thrived on the blend.

The Tigers quite literally flipped the script, even to the point of Seth Campbell kicking the sealing goal of the game, then doing a remarkable backflip and somersault that could be seen in sports packages sent across the world.

The loss of seasoned premiership stars Liam Baker, Daniel Rioli, Shai Bolton and Jack Graham plus the retirements of Martin and Dylan Grimes was meant to consign the Tigers to misery for the coming years.

But while this is one game, in one week of football, it was something to savour for the yellow and black army as they dare to dream of a new dawn.

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

A month ago Lalor broke his jaw after being pushed into a contest; on Thursday night, in game one, he threw himself into the contest with a fearless hint of a young Dustin Martin.

Yes, that’s a big call. But there looks to be something special about this kid.

His first touch saw him push his way around his opponent to drive the ball forward.

His first goal in the third term was almost imperious as he found himself in the goalsquare by himself as he thumped the ball into the delirious Richmond cheer squad at the Punt Rd end, a fifth successive goal from the Tigers that changed the game.

His second was every bit as good.

But it wasn’t just Lalor who shone. He had plenty of helpers, including his two other debutant mates Luke Trainor and Harry Armstrong, who had some good moments.

A total team effort lifted the Tigers to a famous win. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

TDK IS A STAR BUT NANK IS A WARRIOR WORTH HIS WEIGHT IN GOLD

Richmond captain Toby Nankervis is being paid about a third of what St Kilda is offering Tom De Koning per season to pack up and leave the Blues.

Don’t get me wrong, TDK is a star. He is worth it.

And for what it’s worth, we reckon he will stay in the navy blue colours, sacrificing a huge pot of money to remain with the Blues.

But in terms of pure leadership and absolute grunt, Nank is worth his weight in gold for the yellow and black.

They won’t build a statue to him at Punt Rd, but his blunt force in a contest is almost as hard as marble.

Toby Nankervis led from the front. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He kicked two early goals and kept the Tigers in it when the Blues looked to be taking control of it as he pushed hard against the tide.

He and De Koning had a great duel, but time and again the big man stood as the anchor when the Blues were pushing hard.

He acknowledged after the game that he was lifted by the youthful exuberance of players such as Lalor and Co.

TOM HAS A FEW MORE SHOTS TO FIRE

Tom Lynch would have enjoyed that.

After a horrible run with injury, the premiership forward finally kicked his first goal on the MCG for the first time since round 3 last year.

He is far from the player he used to be, and he can’t move the way he used to.

But he has an important role to play in assisting the young Tigers this year and he seems up for the challenge.

He was starting to get his mits on the ball the longer the game went on.

WHAT NEXT FOR THE BLUES?

This was a terrible night for the Blues, and for coach Michael Voss, as Carlton was upstaged by a younger, cleaner, more desperate opposition.

It’s a long season, we know, but the Blues looked ineffective, disjointed and out of sync with each other.

Now they must regroup in the turnaround to Thursday night’s clash with Hawthorn, knowing a 0-2 scoreline would ramp up the pressure on the game from the get-go.

Too often they fumbled, too often they torched the ball, too often they were pushed off the ball. It was almost inexplicable for a team that sees itself as a top four aspirant.

They are not on that performance, having coughed up a 41-point lead, and must regroup fast.

Not the start to 2025 Carlton would have expected. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

COURAGE DOESN’T NEED A BIRTH CERTIFICATE

If anyone tries to tell you over the water cooler that AFL players are softer in 2025 than they were in the past, tell them they’re dreaming.

Go back and look at the spine-tingling moment when 18-year-old first-gamer Harry Armstrong and third-year Blue Ollie Hollands charged headfirst at each other in pursuit of the incoming ball without fear of the consequences.

There was an audible gasp from the crowd as the two both crashed into each other, then got up just as swiftly, looking a little ginger, but having won the admiration of the fans.

Originally published as AFL round 1 Richmond vs. Carlton: Sam Lalor leads Tiger cubs to famous Blues boilover