HE'S 33 and he's coming off two quiet seasons by his lofty standards, but could Eddie Betts be Carlton's good-luck charm in its bid to finally break its hoodoo against reigning premier Richmond in round one?

The veteran small forward, who has returned to the Blues after six seasons with Adelaide, boasts an extraordinary 16-3 record against the Tigers over the past 12 seasons.

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What's more, Betts' average winning margin against Richmond is an emphatic 45 points.

Most tellingly, the last time Betts played for the Blues against the Tigers – in the 2013 first elimination final – resulted in Carlton's most recent victory over its old rival.

That season the Blues, under Mick Malthouse, had actually finished ninth but they were gifted a finals berth after seventh-placed Essendon was banished from the September action as part of sanctions for its controversial 2011-12 supplements program.

In the cut-throat final at the MCG, Carlton trailed Damien Hardwick's men by 32 points early in the third quarter before storming home with 12 of the last 15 goals to win by 20 points. Betts, then 26, was typically industrious in contributing 3.2 and a goal assist.

To that point, Carlton had won 11 of their previous 12 games against Richmond (the only blemish being a five-point defeat in the 2013 season-opener).

The next week Carlton suffered a 24-point loss to Sydney in the first-semi-final at ANZ Stadium, with Betts kicking two of his team's eight goals in his most recent outing in the navy blue.

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In their six seasons without Betts, the Blues haven't played another final and haven't beaten Richmond.

In fact, Carlton is enduring its longest losing streak against Richmond, succumbing in each of its past nine clashes by an average of 26 points.

In their past two encounters the Blues have been goalless at quarter-time, an area Betts might well rectify himself given he has kicked first-quarter goals in 10 of his previous 19 games against Richmond.

The little genius also enjoyed a strong record against the Tigers as a Crow, winning five of seven games. However, it must be pointed out that five of these contests were fought at Adelaide Oval, where the Crows prevailed 4-1.

The Crows' only other loss to the Tigers in this period was, of course, the crushing 48-point capitulation in the 2017 Grand Final.

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Over the past 12 years Betts has been held goalless against Richmond just once, and that was in a winning team in round two, 2018, when Adelaide triumphed by six goals and exacted some degree of revenge for the Grand Final defeat.

Now that the popular Betts is back at Carlton and he has slipped back into his old No.19 guernsey, the Blues hope he can also recapture some of his old magic, while providing his young team with crucial leadership and big-game experience.

And it certainly promises to be a big game against the Tigers in round one.

*GA – goal assists

• Information supplied by AFL statistician and historian Stephen Rodgers.