MELBOURNE half-back Clint Bartram says his side wasted a genuine opportunity to win its second match of the season, after going down to Richmond by 22 points at Telstra Dome on Sunday evening.

After leading at quarter-time, the Demons were run down by the Tigers during the second term, before the red and blue hit back strongly. Still it wasn't enough for Melbourne to prevail, which Bartram said was a frustrating experience.

"It was a missed opportunity, but there were some good things to take out of the game. We are moving the ball a lot better than previous weeks, but we let it slip in 15 minutes and all of the boys are disappointed," Bartram told melbournefc.com.au.

"The second half of the second quarter, they [Richmond] kicked eight goals and we just couldn't stem the flow and couldn't get the momentum back, so it was a pretty disappointing period, considering we played reasonably well for the rest of the game.

"We got smashed at the contested ball in the second quarter and our pressure just wasn't good enough and we know that we've got to work on it and we need to get the four quarter performances to get the results on the board."

Despite the loss, the form of Bartram was a positive for Melbourne, with his efforts drawing praise from coach Dean Bailey.

"Bartram kicked two off the defensive part of the game, so for 'Barty' to push forward and create opportunities is good – at least you're seeing those younger players taking their chances," Bailey said post-match.

The emerging Demon said he enjoyed the opportunity to push forward and kick a couple of goals – both in the opening term. He is now looking forward to the ensuing reward.

"I haven't really gone down forward much, since I've been back from injury, but [defensive coach] Sean Wellman is shouting us lunch for every goal we kick from the backline, so I'll try and get down there as often as I can now," Bartram said.

"It was obviously pretty pleasing to go down and kick a couple of goals, but I've still got things to work on in my game and that's what I'll be working on this week.

"He [Wellman] talks the parmigianas up, so they better be good."

Bartram also spoke of Melbourne's past 10 days, which has seen the club celebrate its 150th birthday in front of a capacity crowd at Crown, play Collingwood on the Queen's Birthday holiday and seen the arrival of Jim Stynes as president last Thursday.

"Personally, it was a real eye-opener for me, the dinner," Bartram said.

"I caught up with some of the past heroes of the club and I learned some things I really didn't know and I met some people I hadn't met before and they are all so passionate about the club. That's the main thing I took out of it – the passion from the past players – and everyone goes through rough patches, so it's good to have their support on board.

"Jimmy coming on is fantastic. You won't find a more passionate guy than Jimmy – he loves the club and he loves all of the boys here and he's determined to turn it all around and all of the boys are happy to have him here.

"I suppose time will tell [how he goes] but he's got my full support."