FREMANTLE coach Mark Harvey was left to pick up the pieces after his wounded side battled admirably to lose to Richmond by just three points on Saturday night.

Stephen Hill (cork), Des Headland (quad) and Luke McPharlin (hip) all left the ground in the first half and didn't return, while Michael Johnson (ankle) and Paul Hasleby (cork) were forced to play with their injuries.

After a bruising encounter where both sides pushed themselves to the limit, Harvey said he could be without key players for an extended period.

"We're going to lose some players for maybe substantial weeks from this," he said after the match.

"I'm not going to go into detail about how long it is, but you obviously saw the guys that couldn't come back on tonight.

"It obviously has an enormous impact, particularly if you get the injuries early, and to what [are the] sort of players that you need in order to win those close games."

Harvey renewed his call to expand interchange benches and team lists after spending the majority of the contest with one fit player on the pine.

"If you have a look at what's happening with the intensity going up, we're starting to see a lot more of an injury list at this particular club," he said.

"We either need to expand our list or we look at the interchange."

With Ryan Crowley (foot) and Rhys Palmer (knee) out for the season and Chris Mayne (foot), Brock O'Brien (quad) and Roger Hayden (leg) sidelined for a number of weeks, Harvey could be forced to introduce more debutants.

But he was able to look on the bright side, saying the devastating loss could be a valuable experience for his players.

"I'd like to think everyone recognises how tough this game was tonight, from both sides," Harvey said.

"In the short-term it's probably going to hurt us a lot. In the long-term it might be the making of the players and the team.

"If you want to go and have a look and see our players, they're pretty battered and bruised from this game.

"[Other] players, when we're wounded, need to take their opportunities."

Fremantle found itself 33 points down with 21 minutes played in the third quarter, but rallied to snatch a five-point lead late in the fourth.

But the Tigers responded and Harvey paid tribute to them for winning just their second game of the year in Terry Wallace's milestone match.

Nonetheless, he said there were opportunities in the fourth for his side to steal victory.

"We couldn't sustain the effort," he said.

"There were some areas of the game in the last quarter where we could have won the game and should have won the game.

"But I thought it was a testament to the team that they did rally when Richmond got that run-on in the third quarter."