1. Houli hit leaves Blue motionless
Richmond can expect its rebounding defender Bachar Houli to miss time after he swung his left arm behind him and connected with Jed Lamb's face early in the opening quarter. The Tigers were breezing into attack before Houli's brain fade. Lamb hit the deck immediately and laid motionless on the edge of the centre square, before two Carlton trainers carried him off. He went down the race and was not seen for quite some time – eventually emerging with his tracksuit on and took no further part. Houli was booed for the rest of the day by the Blues fans, but his bigger problem is the Match Review Panel's impending judgment. 

2. Umpiring shockers cost Tigers
We call out the players for blatant errors, and the umpires made a couple of their own – one in particular – in the opening quarter. It's a tough gig, being an umpire, but positioning was not necessarily a strength across the weekend. Levi Casboult somehow got away with shoving  Richmond full-back David Astbury with both hands into the back before marking. The Blues scored a goal out of the play via Dale Thomas. Moments later down the other end, Jack Riewoldt received a free kick, but teammate Daniel Rioli eagerly gobbled up possession and delivered a centring pass straight to a Carlton defender. The umpire awarded advantage, to the Tigers' disadvantage. Examples like that are surely not what the rule was designed for. 

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3. Age of lists not so different
Plenty is made of the youthfulness of Carlton's line-ups this year under Brendon Bolton, but perhaps not enough attention is on Richmond in the same area. The Blues were younger than Richmond on Sunday, but not by as much as many would think. They each fielded six players aged 21 years or younger and the Tigers had 12 between the 22-to-27 bracket to Carlton's 11. The difference is Richmond's quality through that mid-bracket, with the likes of Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance, Brandon Ellis and David Astbury. The best Blues in that mix? Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty, Levi Casboult, Ed Curnow and Lachie Plowman. The youngest footballer out there was the Tigers' 18-year-old forward Shai Bolton, who looks a top prospect. 

4. Could Kreuzer be the All Australian ruckman?
A new Virgin Australia AFL All Australian ruckman looks set to be named, with Max Gawn (2016), Todd Goldstein (2015), Aaron Sandilands (2014), the retired Will Minson (2013) and Nic Naitanui (2012) seemingly out of contention for various reasons. There are many contenders, including Port Adelaide's Paddy Ryder, Adelaide's Sam Jacobs, Collingwood's Brodie Grundy, Brisbane Lion Stefan Martin and Hawthorn's Ben McEvoy among them. But don't sleep on the 2007 No.1 draft pick. Blue Matthew Kreuzer, finally free of the injuries that dogged the early parts of his career, is quietly putting together a fine campaign. He was among Carlton's best again against Richmond, winning the hit-outs over Toby Nankervis, having more the ball and even adding a pair of goals. Kreuzer should have had three, given he shanked an early set shot. 

5. The benefits of a big midfielder
Most of the marvelling about Carlton's star young midfielder Patrick Cripps is based on his work inside the contest. He was great again in that area, with 17 contested possessions and 10 clearances. But Cripps' highlight came in the air, when he climbed over Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt to cling onto a kick-out in the third quarter. Not many on-ballers can do that, but Cripps stands an extraordinary 195cm – the height that usually pegs players for a key-position role. Tiger Daniel Rioli tried to issue a challenge to Cripps for mark of the day in the fourth term, only for the umpire to correctly pay a hands-in-the-back free kick against him.