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Three goals from Harry McKay in the final quarter couldn't lift Carlton over the line as they suffered a 15-point defeat to AFL rivals Richmond.

Bookends Tom Lynch and Dylan Grimes have helped Richmond to a 15-point win over a fast-finishing Carlton, lifting the Tigers back into the AFL's top eight.

Aided by three goals from Lynch on his return from a hamstring injury and Grimes keeping Charlie Curnow quiet, Richmond led by as much as 35 points amid persistent rain during the first half on Thursday.

But Harry McKay's final-quarter heroics threatened to drag the Blues over the line, the spearhead kicking three goals in four minutes to breathe life into the contest before the Tigers prevailed 11.15 (81) to 9.12 (66) at the MCG.

Richmond controlled the midfield battle and generated a 76-51 advantage in forward entries, but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard and left the door open for their dogged opponents.

McKay's purple patch was followed by a Jack Newnes snap shot that appeared to have put the Blues back within three points with all the momentum on their side, but it was correctly ruled touched on review.

Richmond hung on in a performance coach Damien Hardwick described as "winning ugly".

"We're doing a lot of things right but our scoring profile is not where we need it to be," Hardwick said.

"We're getting a lot more inside-50s than our opposition and that's been a staple of when we've had success.

"We want the game to look a certain way but we've just got to get better at generating shots at goal."

The Tigers (8-5) have now won six of their last seven games and are looming large in the finals race ahead of a huge game against Geelong next week.

But there was a sour note to their latest triumph, with tall utility Noah Balta substituted out of the match with another of his hamstring injuries in the final term.

"It's always a concern when a player re-injures," Hardwick said.

"The significance will be multiplied because it's a recurrence."

Already undermanned, Carlton lost Jack Martin (tight calf) and mid-season draftee Sam Durdin (knee) to injuries late in the match.

Adam Saad played on after copping an accidental finger in the eye from Lynch.

Richmond midfielder Dion Prestia (33 disposals, 13 clearances) stood up in the absence of superstar Dustin Martin, who missed the match through illness.

Liam Baker (27 disposals), Kane Lambert (22) and ruckman Toby Nankervis were also influential as the Tigers' engine room got on top.

Blues captain Patrick Cripps had 34 disposals in his 150th game and Sam Walsh (34) was busy throughout against the tide, while McKay finished with four goals.

Carlton coach Michael Voss conceded his side overused the ball in slippery conditions early in the match and was surprised by Richmond's dominance around the stoppages - an area that's been a strength of the Blues' this season.

"We just fuelled their game too much," Voss said.

"We fought our way back, there's a positive, we keep fighting right to the end and never give in.

"But really at the start of the game we couldn't quite execute the way we wanted to."

Shai Bolton kicked two majors for Richmond but caused controversy in the last quarter when he taunted Blues defender Sam Docherty on the way into an open goal.

The incident seemingly stemmed from an exchange during a three-quarter time melee, which flared up when Cripps took exception to a push from Prestia that caused the Blues' skipper to hit his head on Walsh's leg.