"I thought we had it won. I thought it was a great comeback when we got in front, but that's footy," Bate told melbournefc.com.au.
"In a close game there is always going to be one team hurting and one team happy."
And Bate said any thought the Demons weren't giving their all was simply hogwash.
"You can't say we tried to lose that," he said.
"All of the boys had a crack, so even though we were thrown around a bit and had some good players out of the side, we still showed we had depth and can fight it out against an in-form Richmond side, which had a pretty full-strength team in."
Bate, who has been playing up forward for most of the season but had a midfield role against the Tigers, said Melbourne experimented with several moves for further progression in the side's development.
"They're (the coaches) moving us around a lot and they're doing that because they're thinking ahead and thinking of giving guys experience in different positions," he said.
"So next year when the game's on the line, they are confident of moving someone from the midfield to down back [for example]. They're trying to add flexibility to us, so with no chance of making finals this is the perfect time to do it.
Bate said it was an exhausting match to play in due to injuries to Stefan Martin (corked calf), Jamie Bennell (knee) and Matthew Whelan (foot).
"We had three guys who couldn't come back onto the ground in the end, so we didn't have any rotations," he said.
"We thought we had it there, but footy is a game of inches and seconds and [Jordan] McMahon got one right on the siren."
With a handful of players on the fringes of the Melbourne side getting their chances in the absence of several injured Demons, Bate said that group was trying to do its utmost.
"There are a lot of guys who have been playing with Casey for a fair bit of the year and they come into the side desperate," he said.
"This is the chance to claim their spot and I thought everyone tried their hardest today.
"With a few rounds left, they'll be given opportunities and it's up to them if they're going to take it or not."
