Richmond coach Adem Yze was counting the cost of the 23-point loss, with No.1 pick Sam Lalor pulling up sore, and Thomson Dow suffering a dislocated patella.
Skipper Toby Nankervis is likely to return for next week's clash with Greater Western Sydney after being managed.
"Sammy Lalor, unfortunately we think it's a slight hammy. I'm not sure how bad it is, he's obviously most likely going to miss next week," Yze said.
"Thomson Dow's kneecap slipped out. He said he's had it before, so depending on what sort of damage that does – he's most likely going to miss as well. I'm not sure if he missed a game (last time), but hopefully, because he's been in really good form.
"[Nankervis] has been dealing with a knee issue for the last few weeks, so we had to break the cycle. A five-day break, it just made sense. The risk was if we just kept pushing him through, he'd miss more than just one game. We're hoping this would do that, and he'll just miss one, get back in for the next couple of weeks and look to the bye.
"The hardest thing with the captain, is telling him this is the best scenario to go through, when 'Lynchy' (Tom Lynch) and Noah Balta aren't playing. You could see he was more worried about our leadership out there."
The Tigers had stuck with the Bombers for the first half of the game, but the more experienced Essendon wrestled back control in slippery conditions as the game hit the final straight.
"We were quite happy with the way we started, our first half was really competitive. Thought we probably could have been further in front at half time than behind, but we just didn't finish and execute and maximise our opportunities," Yze said.
"The weight of numbers in the second half – we got smashed in inside 50s, time in forward half, clearances were diabolical.
"And that's okay. We had a really young side in, we just spoke about it post-game – a lot of their A-graders played really well, like their execution, (Zach) Merrett, (Nic) Martin, (Andrew) McGrath, they all had over 30 possessions, wet conditions, and their talent shone through. But they've all played over 150 games. Our front end had (Luke) Trainor, (Sam) Lalor, (Jonty) Faull, (Tom) Sims, who have played 10 games of footy each."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/1327047/bombers-tigers-sweating-on-scans-for-key-players-after-dreamtime
