RICHMOND interim coach Andrew McQualter has strongly dismissed the suggestion premiership stars Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin could have played against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, saying the pair "weren't ready to play a game of AFL football".

Martin and Cotchin were both left out of the pivotal clash due to soreness and while McQualter said neither player had a specific injury, he was clear they were not rested.

The absence of the legendary Tigers pair and the late out of co-captain Dylan Grimes due to a neck injury meant the Tigers were well short on experience against the Bulldogs, while an ankle injury to Daniel Rioli and concussion suffered by Jacob Hopper during the game further hurt McQualter's side.

McQualter is confident Martin and Cotchin will be available next week, but insisted they were no chance to play on Friday night, with the pair having come off a five-day break from last Sunday's loss to Melbourne.

"We didn't rest anyone this week, just to be really clear," McQualter said after side's 55-point loss.

"There was no one chosen to rest. The players who didn't play were not available to be picked. They weren't ready to play a game of AFL football tonight.

"It's pretty clear we'd have loved Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin and Dylan Grimes in our team tonight. Unfortunately, they weren't available to play."

Grimes experienced neck pain when he woke up on Friday morning and was withdrawn from the match. McQualter said it was too early to tell if Grimes or Rioli will be fit to play St Kilda next week, although Hopper will miss having entered concussion protocols.

On the field, McQualter conceded his attempts to quell the influence of Marcus Bontempelli on Friday night ultimately failed, saying the Bulldogs skipper "might be the best player in the comp at the moment".

Bontempelli led the Bulldogs in a dominant opening quarter in midfield before switching forward in the third term when the Tigers applied a tag, kicking three goals to extend his side's lead.

McQualter lamented his side's horror opening quarter, particularly around the ball, and heaped praise on Bontempelli.

"The board was flashing red in a fair few areas," he said. "And to be fair, all credit goes to the Doggies. They were absolutely red hot in that first quarter and made us pay for every little mistake we made in the first quarter, and we made a few of them.

"They just smashed us around the ball, their ability to fight our tackles and tackle us and get us on the outside was just far too great. It was overwhelming, we couldn't handle it and the game was over at quarter time.

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"I think we had three people try and go to (Bontempelli) throughout the night. We certainly had a crack at it.

"He might be the best player in the comp at the moment, I think. He's a special player and the way he's able to hurt you in different ways is a challenge. We tried quite a few things, but ultimately he was a bit too good for us tonight."

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge also praised his captain but said one of the most pleasing aspects of the win was the work of forwards Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Aaron Naughton and Rory Lobb.

The arrival of Lobb last October had sparked plenty of pre-season discussion about the threat of the Bulldogs' forward line, but the results on field have fallen well short of the external pre-season hype.

Lobb only returned to the senior side last week having been dropped, while fellow tall Sam Darcy has had a horror year on the injury front.

But the trio of Ugle-Hagan, Naughton and Lobb kicked 10 goals between them on Friday night, including four to Ugle-Hagan in the opening quarter, in a positive sign they might be hitting their best at the back end of the season.

"Maybe, maybe," Beveridge said when asked if he thought it was the best the trio had worked together all year.

"Lobby's playing a really important role as that second ruck and we thought he helped Tim (English) and I thought Tim was pretty good tonight.

"I thought some of our craft from our key forwards against pretty good opposition was as good as it's been. It was great to see them share the ball, some really good team play and some unselfishness. That all goes well."