After an even first quarter, the Tigers just had no-one capable of stopping the Demons' trio of tall forwards David Neitz, Ben Holland and Brad Miller in going down 19.12 (126) to 10.10 (70)
With Darren Gaspar in the VFL due to his lack of form and Ray Hall banished to the forward line the Tigers had Ty Zantuck on Neitz, Joel Bowden on Miller and Andrew Kellaway on former Tiger Holland.
Bowden and Zantuck were conceding four and five centimetres respectively in height while Kellaway conceded a massive 12, but with no other options, Richmond coach Danny Frawley watched helplessly as the Demons' big forwards dominated.
Neitz booted six while Miller kicked four and Holland - reveling playing against his former club - kicked three and was a constant danger with his strong marking.
Their dominance meant that it scarcely mattered that star Demons' midfielders such as Brad Green and ruckman Jeff White were down on their best form.
But while the Tigers would have been happy with keeping White and Green both below 20 touches, they could not stop the stylish Cameron Bruce, who was best afield with 13 kicks, 20 handballs and eight marks.
Without skipper Wayne Campbell and reigning club champion Mark Coughlan out injured, the Tigers' midfield offered little although David Rodan did put in an improved performance.
Any hope the Tigers had of causing an upset victory depended on Matthew Richardson and Brad Ottens being somehow able to conjure a winning score but yet again the Tigers failed to score 100 points - a mark they have only achieved once this season.
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Richardson was held to two goals by in-form Demons full-back Alistair Nicholson while Ottens, who had an intriguing duel with White in the ruck, also could kick just two.
But despite yet another defeat there were some positive signs for long-suffering Tigers' fans to take away from this game.
Kayne Pettifer, much-maligned for managing just 36 games in four years despite being a first round draft pick, booted four goals, while second gamer Daniel Jackson looked the Tigers' most composed defender throughout the first half.
And another youngster in Brent Hartigan was able to control Demons' goalsneak Peter Vardy, who eventually left the field with a knee injury.
But at the other end the Tigers also got little out of goalsneak Andrew Krakouer, who was well beaten by one of the AFL's most underrated players in Nathan Brown.
Richmond coach Danny Frawley said the Tigers are not certain to bring back Gaspar for next week's clash against Collingwood despite their lack of height in defence being brutally exposed by Melbourne on Sunday.
"Their tall forwards when you look at it, Neitz, has kicked six, Miller four and Holland three, so that is always going to be a winning score for them," he said.
"That (a lack of key defenders) has been a bit of an issue for us, but Darren Gaspar is going to be a hell of a lot better player for us next year."
Richmond: 4.4 7.7 9.8 10.10 (70)
Melbourne: 5.3 11.7 15.10 19.12 (126)
Goals: Richmond: Pettifer 4, Richardson 2, Ottens 2, Chaffey, Houlihan
Melbourne: Neitz 6, Miller 4, Holland 3, Robertson 2, Yze, Walsh, Johnstone, Brown.
Best: Richmond: Rodan, Fleming, Jackson, Chaffey, Hartigan, Pettifer
Melbourne: Bruce, Neitz, Holland, Miller, Brown, Johnstone, Wheatley.
Injuries: Richmond: Nil
Melbourne: Vardy (knee)
Umpires: Rowe, Rowston, Margetts
Crowd: 25,211 at MCG
