TIGERS coach Terry Wallace yesterday warned the Richmond faithful after a dismal loss to North Melbourne that the team was now in a position to drop players who did not deserve games, unlike during last year's horrific season.

There were plenty of candidates for the axe among the Tigers side that went down to North Melbourne by 41 points, but form and effort would be assessed over more than the one game, Wallace said.

"Our supporters shouldn't walk away thinking they are going to get the same old, same old," Wallace said.

"Blokes who don't respect their position in the side and therefore don't respect the guernsey won't play and we are in a position where we can do that and make changes to the side until we get the right blokes in there who want to compete."

Richmond's VFL side Coburg won comfortably at the weekend with Mitch Morton kicking seven goals and Jack Riewoldt impressing.

After yesterday's game both coaches were left to wonder how long is too long and how fair is a reasonable gap between matches after Richmond entered the game on a 10-day break and North on a six-day turnaround.

North coach Dean Laidley, who was impressed at his side's ability to reverse last week's disappointment against Essendon, was troubled that his side would tire badly compared to Richmond as the game wore on. Wallace, on the other hand, figured his side had been given too long to wait between games.

"We are not trying to make excuses — we thought we were extremely poor for the game — but playing the first game of the opening round through to the very last game of the next round in this very late Sunday game," Wallace said.

"Kangaroos, six days angry and getting on with the next job straight away versus us fairly comfortable with ourselves over 10 days made a huge difference."

Laidley described the Essendon loss as one of the worst in his time as coach and was pleased with his side's move to kill the contest in the opening quarter.

"We were really pleased that six days later we got an opportunity but, as a coach, you were concerned that — I know it is an unfair playing field this competition but when your opposition has an 11-day break and you only have six, I reckon that is a bit too much.

"In the last quarter I was thinking, 'Are we enough in front?' because if it was six days versus eight days, when it is 11 v six that is huge in this day and age."

Corey Jones, who was concussed in the opening minutes last week, booted four goals in the first quarter with as many opponents and finished with seven yesterday.

North forward Aaron Edwards was reported early in the second quarter for charging Andrew Raines. Edwards had led out for the mark and jumped as if to take it on his chest and cannoned through Raines, who had dropped in in front of him.

Raines later dislocated his knee when, on the end of a chain of handpasses, he ran into a tackle with Daniel Pratt and appeared to twist his knee.

He will be assessed over the next few days for the extent of the damage.