Melbourne have held their nerve for a gutsy 17-point AFL win over Richmond at the MCG.

The Tigers badly wanted a win to honour club great Tom Hafey, but they only have themselves to blame for the 14.7 (91) to 9.20 (74) result.

Richmond kicked a wasteful 5.12 after halftime.

The loss also leaves the Tigers in a major hole with two wins from eight games, while the Demons continue their resurgence and are 3-6.

Demons midfielders Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson and forward Cameron Pedersen starred in the win.

Jack Watts kicked two vital goals in the last term and had three for the game, while Dustin Martin was best for Richmond.

Hafey, Richmond’s beloved four-time premiership coach, died on Monday aged 82.

The Tigers honoured him with a pre-game ceremony where the crowd of 56,910 gave a minute’s applause.

Past Tigers greats also presented the four premiership cups that the club won in the Hafey era to members of his family on the MCG wing.

In a scrappy first half, Richmond were never able to break clear.

They led by a goal at quarter-time and three points at the main break.

Melbourne forward Chris Dawes is in trouble for high contact with Alex Rance late in the first term.

His clumsy challenge is certain to attract match review panel scrutiny.

The Demons piled the pressure on Richmond in the third term, kicking the first two goals.

Richmond subbed on Ben Lennon for his AFL debut and within seconds he kicked a goal with his first possession.

But Melbourne kicked five goals to two for the quarter and the Tigers also lost defender David Astbury with a potentially-serious knee injury.

While Richmond kept spraying their shots on goal, they drew to within four points midway through the last term.

Melbourne then kicked successive goals in a couple of minutes to confirm the win.