Brownlow Medallist Patrick Cripps has given Carlton a scare, hurting his ankle late in their AFL pre-season win over Collingwood.
Cripps was hurt in a tackle as the Blues beat the Magpies by 10 points on Friday at Ikon Park, while North Melbourne showed plenty of improvement under new coach Alastair Clarkson as they lost to Richmond by two points.
Brisbane star Lachie Neale was crunched in their 45-point win over the Swans in Sydney, but he played out the game.
Blues assistant coach Tim Clarke was confident that Cripps had not suffered a serious injury in the 12.12 (84) to 11.8 (74) win,.
"He rolled his ankle. He hobbled off the ground, but he was walking around in the rooms and he was handing footballs out (to fans) after the game," Clarke said.
"So we're pretty sure he's going to be fine."
Carlton forward Harry McKay kicked three goals and Charlie Curnow also was prominent, with former Brisbane forward Daniel McStay also kicking three for the Magpies.
Star recruit Tim Taranto shone in Richmond's new-look attack as they held off North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos showed plenty of promise at their Arden St headquarters, with No.3 draft pick Harry Sheezel making an immediate impact and kicking three goals.
Taranto, recruited from GWS to Punt Rd along with Jacob Hopper, kicked two goals and combined well with Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin in the Tigers' 11.9 (75) to 10.13 (73) win over four periods.
Richmond and North played four terms of AFL before finishing off with mainly VFL players.
After only playing nine games last season, Martin looked in ominous touch for the Tigers on Friday with two goals.
Defender Griffin Logue, recruited from Fremantle, and midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke impressed for North.
In a hit to work productivity across Australia, the AFL scheduled six hitouts for Friday.
Sydney beat the Lions 15.9 (99) to 8.6 (54), while Melbourne kicked clear late to belt St Kilda 16.9 (105) to 6.10 (46) at Moorabbin in the afternoon.
Perth has a Western Australia-South Australia double, with Fremantle playing Adelaide and West Coast taking on Port Adelaide.
