A Tiger for nine years, McGuane has never played in a win over Carlton and that run looked set to continue at the MCG as the Blues surged to kick eight of the game's last 10 goals.
In the dying stages, Richmond held its collective breath as Chris Yarran missed two gettable shots that surely would have won the game for Carlton.
Then, with the Tigers ahead by four points in the final minute, McGuane had his match-saving moment when young Blue Josh Bootsma tried to rebound out of Carlton's defensive 50.
"Lucky I got a hand on him and dragged him in," McGuane told AFL.com.au on Thursday night.
"I just tried to equalise numbers and then he tried to take me on. He's a lighter frame than me.
"I think we always knew we had them, but we just ran out of legs a little bit towards the end.
"I think we learned a bit out of it, that we need to slow the game down. We slowed it down and we got the win."
Thursday night was Richmond's second round one win over Carlton since the fixture became a regular in 2007, and it snapped a
nine-game losing streak against the Blues.
McGuane, who kicked two goals in a significant performance, said the win meant a lot.
"The last time we beat Carlton in round one was 2008, so it's a massive thing for us," he said.
"We don't want to get too carried away, but it's a good start to the season and we start on the right side of the ledger for once.
"Confidence is a big thing in football and usually after round one our confidence isn't at the highest.
"It's good to get this win, especially against Carlton, and get that voodoo off our back. Now we just move on."
Coach Damien Hardwick praised McGuane's ability to compete in a forward line that functioned well with Jack Riewoldt pushing higher up the ground.
"I don't think he got out-marked once tonight when he was one against two," Hardwick said.
"He had a couple of huge tackles and he kicked two goals. He competes, and that's what we thrive on as a footy club.
"If he keeps ticking those boxes he's going to play a lot of footy for us."
Hardwick also said it was pleasing to see 22-year-old Ty Vickery stand up and kick three goals in the first half in an impressive performance.
"Ever since he went down last year we knew how important he was to our side," Hardwick said.
"He's going to be a long-term player for us. He's still got some things in his game he's got to work on but I was really pleased to see him work hard and get rewards early.
"He's a tough kid. He plays the game hard, he's competitive and it was good to see that come out in his game."
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
