AS THE season starts to grind and many players battle on with niggling injuries, Richmond midfielder Nathan Foley is simply happy to be playing.

We know now his teammate Jack Riewoldt is playing sore as the season crosses the round 14 mark, with coach Damien Hardwick conceding as much after the Tigers' 27-point loss to Melbourne on Saturday.

Foley could be forgiven for suffering from the increased demands on midfielders caused by the new substitute rule more than most, considering he didn't play from round nine onwards last year owing to a persistent ankle injury. 

But, after being restricted to just four matches in 2010, the 25-year-old is just enjoying being fit again, although he admits it's getting harder to withstand the week-to-week grind.

"It's going really well. I'm training consistently and I'm just really enjoying being out there," he told richmondfc.com.au at the MCG after the loss to the Demons.

"I didn't play much last year and the game is certainly getting quicker and quicker, so the demand on your body is huge but to compare round 14 to other years it's probably quite similar.

"It's understandable at times it does catch up but that's AFL for you."

The Tigers were subject to a passionate barrage from Hardwick in the hour after Saturday's game, which was audible to the few that waited in the rooms for the players to emerge.

Foley said the coach - and equally the players - were shattered they let slip a golden opportunity to climb into the top eight for the first time since round five, 2008.

"We're all frustrated and disappointed. It was a great opportunity and it was an opportunity lost," he said.

"It was a credit to Melbourne and the way they played.

"It's probably pretty hard to work out why we lost straight way but the first thought is Melbourne forced us into a lot of turnovers in our back half and their pressure around the footy was really good.

"We made mistakes and referred the pressure and I think that cost us a lot of goals."

Even more of a disappointment to the Tigers was the fact the loss was to the Demons; a side that has beaten them in their past three head-to-heads now despite the comparisons between the teams and their rebuilding phases.

Foley said they had no one to blame but themselves.

"You look at the ladder and we are in at a similar level so it was a good contest today. We just cost ourselves too many goals at times," he said.

"We couldn't capitalise in the first quarter and then they kicked a lot of goals in a row, and then it happened again in the second quarter. We played in patches and that's what's frustrating."

If the Tigers were looking for an excuse as to why so many of their players were exhausted in the final quarter, they could have used their recent hectic travel schedule.

They've been to Darwin, Sydney and Brisbane in the past month, with the trip to the Harbour City ending in a day-long bus trip home after flights on the east coast were disrupted by the ash cloud.

But Foley said the mid-season adventure had no bearing on their ability to run out Saturday's game.

"I don't think so. You look at teams like West Coast and Freo and they do it every week," he said.

"It's that professional these days; there's such a strict recovery protocol and the fitness staff are well aware of adjusting the training program and stuff like that so we were fine."