Noah Balta was a strong contributor in his controversial return as Richmond ended Gold Coast's unbeaten start to the AFL season in a tense 11-point upset.
The Tigers, with Tim Taranto outstanding in the middle, never trailed in their 12.8 (80) to 9.15 (69) victory at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
But there were nervous moments in their second win of the year, as a 43-point margin was almost wiped out when the Suns kicked five unanswered goals in the final term.
The surprise result followed a week of intense scrutiny over Richmond's handling of Balta's recall.
After serving a four-match ban, Balta made his first appearance of the season just three days before being sentenced for assault.
The premiership defender held down his post in an influential performance despite intense scrutiny and the possibility of jail time hanging over his head.
Jeers for Balta by some in the relatively small crowd were regularly drowned out by cheers from Richmond supporters.
And the Tigers' faithful had plenty to celebrate as their rebuilding side sprung one of the biggest shocks of the season so far.
Experienced duo Taranto (35 disposals) and Jacob Hopper (27) were busy in the middle and Nick Vlastuin (27) had 15 intercept possessions.
Balta had 10, along with four contested marks, while Tom Lynch and Seth Campbell kicked two goals each.
There was plenty of feeling in the contest from the outset and spotfires broke out after each of Richmond's first three goals.
The Suns were unable to capitalise on a 31-18 advantage in first-half forward entries, trailing by 14 points at the main break when Hugo Ralphsmith converted a long set shot on the siren.
The Tigers' big move came in the third quarter, sparked when Maurice Rioli Jnr shoved Sam Collins off the ball to kick the first goal of the second half.
Richmond piled on 6.1 to 1.2 for the term as the lead ballooned to 43 points.
There were some nervous moments at the start of the final quarter when Gold Coast kicked three goals in four minutes.
But the Tigers stemmed the bleeding and hung on despite being held goalless in the last term.
Ben Long kicked three goals for Gold Coast and midfield trio Matt Rowell (28 disposals), Touk Miller (33) and Noah Anderson (32) won plenty of the ball.
It was Richmond's first win at Marvel Stadium in a dozen games, ending a barren stretch that started in 2021 after then-Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said he hated going to the "soulless" league-owned venue.