It's far too depressing to review this game quarter by quarter. To tell the truth it was lost in the first half of the first quarter when Melbourne were 32 to 0.

The game was probably effectively over as a contest late in the third quarter when Melbourne had extended the lead to 40 points, although the Tigers were refusing to lay down and Andrew Krakouer's second goal cut the margin to 30 points, which was still a reachable target in the last quarter.

There was a moment early in the last quarter where not only did Richmond lose the game, they very probably lost their entire season. A freak accident saw Nathan Brown break his leg in two places. His season over and more than likely Richmond's, you don't replace players like Brown, you just try to survive without them. The wins were fun while they lasted and I hope the supporters wrung every bit of joy out of them, because they'll be few and far between from this point on.

Player review:

2. Darren Gaspar, Melbourne may have found his achilles heel, he was well beaten by the smaller more mobile Adam Yze, this is the second time a smaller, more agile opponent has beaten Gaspar.

3. Brett Deledio, this kid keeps amazing, on what was a dismal night for Richmond he was one of the best, delivery was clever and may be oen of the players called upon to fill the gaping void left by the absence of Nathan Brown.

5. Troy Simmonds, took giant steps backward. Rarely held his marks and on the occasions he had a shot on goal he missed. Two of those opportunities came at vital stages and could have been the difference early on.

6. Mark Chaffey, in and out of play, he turns the ball over far too often. Tried on Yze later in the game, but didn't have height or the strength to beat him.

7. Nathan Brown, he was good early and may have even put in another last quarter winning effort. We'll never know. Broke his leg badly early in the last quarter and that will be the last time he will grace the field this season.

9. Wayne Campbell, used his strength when the game was there to be won and looked to be headed for an influential game, but faded later on.

11. Joel Bowden, surprisingly played after having his cheekbone fixed and was pretty good from half back. Copped a smack in the injured cheekbone from Miller and had to spend the rest of the game on the bench, holding an ice pack to his face.

12. Matthew Richardson, without Greg Stafford in the side and Try Simmonds ineffective he became the only big forward and as we have seen so often was regularly double and triple teamed.

13. Trent Knobel, wasn't the worst Tiger on the ground, but also far from the best. Probably his worst game for the year.

15. Kayne Pettifer, actually liked his game, would have liked it a lot better if he had kicked the two shots he had on goal. Broke even with Bizzell.

17. Kane Johnson, very prominent, but was unable to allow the side to capitalise on his good work.

21. Shane Tuck, picked up a lot of possessions, but like Johnson didn't have a lot of influence on the match.

22. Danny Meyer, didn't see a lot of him. The rigours of the game at senior level may have caught up with him. Only Stafford's absence allowed him to play.

24. Mark Coughlan, another herculean effort in the middle, definitely the Tigers best midfielder.

25. Jay Schulz, looked completely lost for most of the game. Severe doubts on his ability to go on with his career.

27. Andrew Krakouer, played a full game tonight. Tackled and harassed when that was needed and was also dangerous around goals.

31. Chris Hyde, prominent early, but went missing later on. Still finding his way after the injury.

32. Greg Tivendale, if he didn't make so many mistakes with his disposal he could be a matchwinner, unfortunately he does make those mistakes.

34. Mark Graham, unable to repeat his effort on Jonathan Brown on the lesser credentialed Ben Holland. Holland was Melbourne's best big forward.

35. Chris Newman, rebounded well, but had to do it too often for Richmond's liking.

39. Andrew Kellaway, tried hard all night and beat Russell Robertson, but as Robertson only plays one decent game out of every five that's probably not a surprise.

41. Nathan Foley, first game for the rookie. Was in it a few times, but struggled to come to terms with the tempo of the game.