Richmond star Alex Rance could miss the rest of the year with a knee reconstruction after he was hurt in their season-opening AFL win over Carlton.
Rance, playing his 200th game, needed help from two trainers as he limped off in agony during the third term of Thursday night's 33-point win at the MCG.
While Rance was in good spirits when he emerged from the changerooms in the last quarter, he was pessimistic about the prognosis.
"I will find out the severity - the initial signs don't look too good," Rance told Channel Seven after the 14.13 (97) to 9.10 (64) win.
Coach Damien Hardwick later confirmed it looks like an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in Rance's right knee.
"It's probably a suspected ACL at this point, which is incredibly disappointing," Hardwick said.
"The measure of the man - you wouldn't know it by his demeanour, he's such an incredible person, first and foremost.
"But it's looking dire at this stage."
Richmond have had a good run with injuries to key players over the last two years.
Even if Rance does not need a reconstruction, he looks a long-term casualty and that is a massive blow for the Tigers.
"He's obviously a champion of the game, he's one of the best full-backs I've ever seen," Hardwick said of Rance.
"But sides have shown us ... last year, West Coast, (Nic) Naitanui goes down.
"These things can be overcome."
Carlton defender Liam Jones will also come under video scrutiny for his block on Jack Riewoldt well off the ball in the second quarter.
The contact left Riewoldt on his haunches and needing medical attention, but he played out the game.
After Richmond kicked the first six goals of the game and led by 40 points early in the second term, the young Blues roared back and only trailled by 12 points at three-quarter time.
The Tigers went to their celebrated extra gear to secure the win with four goals to one in the last quarter.
Captain Trent Cotchin was best afield and in his first game since last year's knee surgery, star recruit Tom Lynch kicked three goals.
There was plenty to like about the young Blues, who pushed the premiership fancies hard in front of 85,016 fans before their challenge ran out of steam.
"The one thing I liked was the resilience and determination to fight back," said coach Brendon Bolton, who praised his team's tackling.
""It's taken us three years to get the list together that we want ... I'm falling in love with our players, I know that sounds mushy."
New Blues co-captain Patrick Cripps was strong in the midfield and teammate Harry McKay was dangerous all night in attack.
Symbolically, Carlton managed to stop Tigers star Dustin Martin twice with crunching tackles, giving him no chance for his signature "don't argue" fend-off.
