Richmond is hopeful Jacob Hopper's hamstring injury is on the minor side after the midfielder was subbed out of Thursday night's loss to Melbourne.

The 27-year-old was seen kicking at the bench in frustration after limping to the sidelines during the third quarter.

He initially grabbed the back of his leg after a marking contest and was attended to by medical staff on the ground, but opted to stay on the field for several minutes before heading to the bench.

"You just feel sorry for him, hopefully it's not a bad one but I think it's just a minor tweak," Tigers coach Adem Yze said after the game.

09:27

Round 7: Yze post-match

Adem Yze speaks to the media following the Anzac Eve match against Melbourne.

Hopper had only just returned from a knee injury that saw him miss the last month of footy, and was playing with a taped knee for the first time in his life.

"He originally thought that (the injury) was something to do with the tape … and he hasn't hurt his hamstring before so he tried to stay out there and run it out," Yze said.

"I don't think he's made it any worse, but I think the fact that he had a taped knee made it a little bit uncomfortable, and disappointing for the guy because he put a power of work in trying really hard to make sure he was ready to play."

Hopper was important for Richmond early in the game, as his side went toe-to-toe with Melbourne, albeit in a scrappy affair.

06:27

Round 7: Match highlights

Highlights of the Anzac Eve match against Melbourne.

A lack of polish in the front half is something Yze pointed to as significant in the result, with the Tigers still experimenting to cover the absence of injured duo Tom Lynch and Noah Balta.

Mykelti Lefau and ruck Sam Naismith were stationed inside 50 as the tall targets, while Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton roamed at ground level.

02:12

‘I just wanted to represent my country well’ - Lefau

Mykelti Lefau speaks with Richmond Media following the sides loss to Melbourne.

"We're missing a couple of big guys down there, but yeah, Mykelti (Lefau) competed really hard. We tried something different with a second ruck to help with their potency around stoppage and clearance, which I thought we did for the majority of the game," Yze said.

"We're trying different things in our front end … so we're going through a little bit right now but like I said, I'm really proud of the way the whole team competed."