ZACH TUOHY MADE his 99th Aussie Rules appearance for Carlton Blues in the opening game of the 2016 AFL season today but they lost out to Richmond Tigers 92-83 in front of 75,706 fans at the MCG.

Carlton players leave the MCG after their defeat to Richmond @CarltonFC @CarltonFC

Laois native Tuohy, who played in every game for Carlton in the 2015 season, started in today’s match on the opening weekend of the 2016 campaign.

Carlton got off to a strong start to be ahead 28-25 after the opening quarter but Richmond responded to be in front 44-37 after the first-half.

Carlton enjoyed a brilliant third quarter as they stormed ahead 75-66 but Richmond took over again to ultimately claim a nine-point victory.

Elsewhere for Irish players, Louth’s Ciaran Byrne was in action for Northern Blues today as they enjoyed a 56-point success over Richmond in a VFL practice match.

Cork’s Ciaran Sheehan is currently out injured for Carlton and is expected to return in four weeks.

Next up for Carlton is a Round 2 game against Sydney Swans on Sunday 3 April.

The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!

The 11 Irish players we’ll be keeping an eye on in this year’s Aussie Rules action

Dubs star admits they’ve been lucky during undefeated start