RICHMOND defender Kelvin Moore is adamant the Tigers have as much talent as Melbourne in their ranks, despite the Demons winning their round 19 battle by 29 points.

The Sunday afternoon clash between Richmond and Melbourne was billed as a battle between the league’s two emerging sides, but the Dees ran away in the last quarter to score a comfortable victory.

“We probably played at about 60 per cent, and that’s being generous,” Moore said.

“Some of it was due to their pressure, and they played pretty well, but we turned the ball over so much and gave them so many easy goals.

“It was our mistakes rather than their good play that decided the game, and we know we can turn those things around.”

Richmond’s poor kicking made life tough for Jack Riewoldt, who was held to one goal by Melbourne defender James Frawley.

The skill errors also resulted in a number of midfield turnovers, which allowed the Demons to score heavily on the counter-attack.

“We had more inside-50s and more of the ball but we just butchered it,” Moore added. “We’d get the ball back and then pretty much give it back to them.

“We’d all be streaming forward and the turnovers really left us open. When they got a run-on, it was very hard to stop.

“Next week we’ve got a big game [against Carlton] and hopefully we don’t turn it over so much.”

It was a tough day for Moore in the backline, as his usual sidekicks Luke McGuane and Will Thursfield were sent forward at various stages to help the struggling Riewoldt.

“I’m certainly happier when those boys are playing down back,” Moore said.

“But Jack was getting double-teamed and triple-teamed, so you try throw a bigger body down there to make a contest and crash packs.”

Thursfield took a couple of marks inside 50 and had a couple of shots for goal, but to his teammates’ disappointment he failed to boot the first major in his 66-game career.

“We were all fired up, hoping we’d get to run down there and congratulate him if he kicked one, but it didn’t work out,” Moore said.

The Tigers are hoping to cap off their season of improvement by putting in a competitive showing against Carlton at the MCG next Saturday.

“We know we can’t make finals, but it’s about building for the future,” Moore said.

“It’s about building for next year and getting some momentum going into next pre-season.

“It’ll be great to play Carlton because we’ll have a big crowd there and we want all our supporters to come out and really support us.

“It’s a crucial stage in Carlton’s season, and likewise for us, as we don’t want to drop off in the last few games.”