CARLTON has won seven consecutive games for the first time since 2023, and things are looking up at Princes Park.

With two wins over Richmond for the year by a combined seven points, the Blues were made to work for the 10.14 (74) to 10.12 (72) victory at a chilly MCG on Saturday evening.

TIGERS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

A late surge from the Tigers threatened to end Josh Fraser's perfect record in the head coaching chair, spurred on by the energy of youth. Taj Hotton nabbed his first goal of the season, Mykelti Lefau kicked truly from a contentious deliberate rushed behind free kick, and Seth Campbell got it within a kick with less than a minute on the clock.

But the Blues were able to frantically lock things down and create four repeat stoppages in that final 60 seconds to secure the win.

George Hewett (26 disposals, nine tackles, two goals) was immense for Carlton, showing off his two-way running through the middle of the ground, and roving a contest up forward beautifully to nail an important goal, while Jagga Smith's (29 disposals, five tackles) star continues to rise.

Too often did Richmond's defensive structure break down, creating opportunities for Carlton to move the ball around the arc and generate marks in dangerous positions.

Losing their direct opponents and getting drawn into no man's land, the Tigers allowed Carlton to take 17 marks inside 50 for the game.

On his return from a larynx fracture, Tom Lynch failed to convert, with one behind and two kicks out on the full for the evening, while Noah Balta (2.2) ultimately broke even.

Finding chemistry up forward is something the Tigers are still working to re-establish, with Lynch and Balta often crowding one-another's space.

In reality, neither team got full value out of its forward forays, with several of Carlton's set shot opportunities unable to convert for majors, meaning it struggled to put Richmond away despite superior control in the match.

The Tigers had a hard time establishing moments of calm throughout the game, instead flicking the ball around and not always able to execute their skills to claim marks around the ground.

At times that speed worked. A spirited start for Richmond led to just its third opening-quarter win of the season and it was off the back of that quick transition that the Tigers created chances for the likes of Campbell (17 disposals, six tackles, two goals) and Rhyan Mansell (10 disposals, two goals), while some push and shove handed Jasper Alger a goal on the bell of quarter-time.

But Carlton's newfound composure meant it could control large patches of the game,

Sheeting rain took hold as play resumed after the main break, forcing play into a chaos phase, but Ben McKay was still able to take a strong mark and kick truly for his sole major of the night before things dried up.

A concussion to Lewis Young in the second term forced Mitch McGovern into defence for the remainder of the game, while Will Hayward slid from his wing role into a permanent attacking position.

Meanwhile, Jack Ross suffered his second concussion of the season following a clumsy tackle attempt on Blue Lachie Cowan in the second quarter.

Tension
As the first quarter built, so did the tension between the sides, with it ultimately boiling over on the eve of the break. As the sides were taking their positions for a boundary stoppage on Richmond's forward flank, Blue Sam Walsh bumped young Tiger Jasper Alger, with the latter falling to the ground as a result. The 19-year-old was awarded a free kick for the contact, and kicked truly as the siren went, so Richmond's goal celebrations quickly turned into a melee as Carlton players took exception. It was some time before the teams could be split into their respective huddles, and the niggling tension remained for the rest of the evening.

A bull at a gate
Jack Ross has been rightly praised for his efforts this year, as a steady senior head among a team stacked with youth, but an unfortunate attempt to tackle in the second term took him out of the game. Flying through to the boundary line directly in front of the benches to tackle Lachie Cowan, Ross mistimed the attempt, instead collecting Cowan's shoulder and jaw with his head. Ross ultimately failed his head injury assessment and was ruled out of the game for the second half. It compounds things for the Tigers, after Kaleb Smith was concussed in the VFL earlier in the day.

Not Vlaustin's finest patch
As Richmond was in control to start the second term, having kicked the last four goals of the first, veteran Nick Vlaustin had a two-minute period he would rather forget, giving up two goals to the Blues. First, it was a poor kick-in which was intercepted by Patrick Cripps and converted for the major. Then, after competing with Mitch McGovern for a contested mark – which McGovern brought down – Vlaustin gathered the ball on the deck and handed it to the umpire rather than his opponent. That decision made a sure thing of McGovern's kick, narrowing the Tigers' lead even further.

RICHMOND        5.3     6.5     7.8      10.12 (72)
CARLTON              2.3     7.7     9.10    10.14 (74)

GOALS 
Richmond: Balta 2, Mansell 2, Lefau 2, Campbell 2, Alger, Hotton
Carlton: Kemp 2, Hewett 2, Evans, Cripps, McGovern, Cerra, Ainsworth, McKay

BEST 
Richmond: Taranto, Campbell, Short, Hotton, Balta
Carlton: Hewett, Smith, Cripps, Evans, Cerra

INJURIES 
Richmond: Ross (concussion)
Carlton: Young (concussion)

Crowd: 54,923 at the MCG