Key Richmond utility Nathan Brown suffered a shocking injury as Melbourne won their AFL match by 57 points.

Early in the last quarter, Brown appeared to suffer two broken bones in his lower right leg after Demons defender Matthew Whelan dived across him to smother a kick.

Graphic television footage of the incident showed the limb bent at a right angle after the impact as Brown yelled in agony.

Play was held up for several minutes as trainers tended to Brown and took him from the field on a stretcher.

He was taken straight to hospital, with unconfirmed radio reports saying he had broken the tibia and fibula bones.

It was one of the worst injuries seen in an AFL match since Brisbane captain Michael Voss also suffered a broken leg in Perth seven years ago.

Melbourne kicked the first five goals of the match and won 20.11 (131) to 11.8 (74).

Brown could be sidelined for the rest of the season in a massive blow for the Tigers, who had won four straight and were second before tonight's loss.

He was second on the AFL goalkicking list with 34, having kicked two, and had been a key to Richmond's outstanding start to the season.

His injury overshadowed the rest of the match, where the Demons withstood a couple of Richmond fightbacks in the first half and controlled the second half for an impressive win.

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