The Bendigo Spirit Women's National Basketball League star picked up 15 possessions - six kicks and nine handballs - in the Tigers' 17-point loss to Collingwood at Punt Road.

Lavey played across half-forward and through the midfield and didn't look out of place.

The 27-year-old showed some flashes of brilliance and was clearly one of Richmond's best players in the 7.6 (48) to 4.7 (31) result.

Lavey decided to try AFLW having already represented Australia in basketball at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Lavey was selected by Richmond with pick number 43 in the 2020 AFL Women's Draft.

She worked closely with another Bendigo sporting product - Nathan Chapman - over summer.

Lavey's kicking improved significantly under Chapman's mentorship and her recent good form in a VFLW practice match gave the Tigers' coaching staff the confidence to play her at AFLW level.

Despite the fact it was her first serious game of football, Lavey showed she has what it takes to play at the highest level.

Lavey's team-mate Kodi Jacques, who was recruited from Bendigo, was one of Richmond's better players with 11 possessions and four tackles.

Meanwhile, former Richmond midfielder Grace Campbell played her first game for North Melbourne on Saturday night.

Traded to the Roos in the off-season after playing five games for the Tigers in 2020, Campbell kicked one goal and had seven disposals in North's nine-point loss to Melbourne.

Star defender Kerryn Harrington had 10 possessions, two marks and two tackles as Carlton scored its first win of the season.

After two narrow losses to start the season, the Blues defeated St Kilda by four goals on Saturday night.

Another Bendigo sporting product - Jordan Ivey - collected 12 touches and laid five tackles for Geelong in the Cats' 15-point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.