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Richmond were totally outclassed by Carlton in their first AFLW match and coach Tom Hunter says the experience will hold them in good stead against Gold Coast.

Richmond coach Tom Hunter says the Tigers' opening round loss was an eye-opener for the AFLW expansion side, and Saturday's clash with Gold Coast will give a better reading of his team's capabilities.

Carlton thumped the Tigers by 34 points first-up, with Richmond only managing two goals in their AFLW debut.

"We learned what it takes to be at the level," Hunter said on Friday.

"We thought Carlton were a quality side on Friday night and over the course of the first round, probably the best side in the competition at the moment. So we took a lot from it.

"The way we wanted to defend, we thought was pretty spot-on but just with our ball movement, we've done a lot of work on setting the ground up this week and wanting to take the game on a little bit more and hopefully we see that against Gold Coast this week."

The Tigers were outclassed around the stoppages by Carlton's hard-nosed on-ball brigade and Hunter emphasised the need to improve both their inside work and ball movement.

The Tigers will be without Holly Whitford (fractured cheekbone), with Grace Campbell the sole inclusion to face the Suns at Metricon Stadium.

Gold Coast's scrappy one-point loss to GWS in shocking conditions made it hard to get a read on the Suns beyond their grit at the contest.

Hunter highlighted a need for the Tigers to match the Suns at the contest, then look to exploit them with their run on the outside.

"For us it's just another opportunity to play an expansion side, so it'll probably give us a better indication of where we're at, especially with the new teams coming in," he said.

"So we can't wait to get up there and, and hopefully come home with four points."