Richmond's unbeaten start to the season has continued, the Tigers winning a pulsating encounter against brave Melbourne by 13 points in front of a record crowd at the MCG.
Damien Hardwick's men were down by 23 points late in the third quarter, but ran over the top of the depleted Demons to improve to a 5-0 record with a thrilling 12.16 (88) to 11.9 (75) win.
Jack Riewoldt almost singlehandedly kept the Tigers in it, kicking five of their eight goals at one stage, and finished with a six-goal haul.
The gutsy Demons, missing Tim Smith and Jake Spencer in the second half, led by 20 points at three-quarter-time but Richmond finished full of running to snatch victory with a five-goals-to-nil final term.
The third meeting between the sides on Anzac Day eve drew a bumper crowd of 85,657 - the largest ever for a Richmond-Melbourne game.
Dustin Martin was under an injury cloud all week but he was at his bullocking best as he amassed a team-high 32 disposals and kicked a crucial last-quarter goal, while Alex Race was a rock in defence.
Led by Nathan Jones, Clayton Oliver and Dom Tyson, Melbourne's midfield held sway for large patches of the match, while defender Michael Hibberd was outstanding in his first game for his new club.
The Demons were left to rue their heavy injury toll with Smith was taken to hospital after copping a big hit to the ribs and Spencer suffered a shoulder injury.
"Credit where credit's due (Melbourne) were outstanding, they were down two players, and we were fortunate to come out on top," Hardwick said.
"There's no doubt it probably had (an impact) ... but I thought the spirit our guys showed and they started to get the ball out into space a bit more in the last quarter, which opened the game up."
The loss was the Demons' third in a row and coach Simon Goodwin was reluctant to blame the injuries entirely for the result.
"I'm so proud of the way they played, the way they fought and the way they gave everything they had for a large part of that game," Goodwin said.
"But I reckon when you become a really good team you actually find a way in those situations to get the result you need.
"We're not at that point yet."
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