'One of the darkest nights': Blues slammed after stunning capitulation to 'a bunch of 14-year-olds'

It was meant to be a straightforward victory for the Carlton Blues over their traditional enemies the Richmond Tigers at the MCG on Thursday night.

Facing a side which on paper looked like a shadow of the club's premiership teams with lacking experience and young blood, not many expected Carlton to get stuck in first gear.

However, what unfolded over 80 minutes of football in front of a crowd of over 80,000 people ensured an upset for the ages as Richmond kicked 12 of the last 14 goals to triumph by 13 points.

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Despite leading by a game-high 41 points midway through the second quarter, the Tigers' cubs rallied to overcome the Blues 13.4 (82) to 9.15 (69).

According to Blues great Brendan Fevola, the club's shocking defeat will go down as "one of the darkest nights in Carlton's history".

In recent years, the Blues have struggled to put breaks on other teams' momentum but after winning the contested possession count by more than 20 and inside 50s by 25, sirens would have been wailing at Ikon Park as their lead dwindled.

Unable to quell Richmond's pressure around the ball and bursts of goals after quarter time, Carlton's loss registered the biggest defeat on record for a team that won most team stats.

"What's next for the Blues?," Fevola wrote on X on Thursday night.

"41 points up against an Under 18 side [in] round one, packed MCG and they under [the] teenagers' pressure.

"Tigers after Q time looked great. [Their] future is bright."

Having vowed to change his first name to Richmond if the Tigers got up, former Carlton player Daniel Gorringe was quickly backtracking on the Instagram page for his footy media company.

"This is officially the darkest day in Carlton's history. This is the bottom of the bottom. We are a shit football team," he said in a humorous video.

"We just got rolled by a bunch of 14-year-olds who've never seen an AFL field before.

"[We're] up by 41 points and get absolutely steamrolled.

"And now I'm Richmond Gorringe."

However, not everyone was despondent about Carlton's spectacular backslide.

Speaking before the match, Richmond legend Kevin Bartlett predicted "one of the great upsets" on his podcast with John Rothfield before delighting in his eerily precise prognosis.

"Carlton are just no good," he wrote on X.

"Don't love the blues (sic) but have great respect for the blues (sic) Beaten (sic) by a bunch of kids. It's Tigertime."

Carlton's chance to make amends will come on Thursday night against Hawthorn — at the same scene as round one's crime.

Conversely, Richmond will face Port Adelaide next Saturday evening as it tries to shrug wooden spoon predictions.