A SUPERIOR Kangaroo midfield and a more varied attack proved too much for Essendon, as the Roos emerged victorious by 22 points in a high-class game at Telstra Dome.

The Bombers dominated much of the first term but their poor shooting for goal kept the Roos in the contest. Once again the boys from Arden Street led at quarter-time, thanks in no small part to Essendon's profligate 2.9, compared to four goals straight.

But the longer the game went the more control the Kangaroos were able to exert. They kept their noses in front in the second term, then small men Daniel Harris, Brent Harvey and Shannon Grant took control in the third term and set up a five-goal break that Essendon could not overcome.

The Bombers relied too much on Scott Lucas in attack, whereas the Roos were well served by the marking talents of Leigh Brown and Aaron Edwards.

The Kangaroos got off to a dream start when the umpire spotted something 60 metres away from the play and gave Leigh Brown a free in the opening seconds after Adam McPhee had been jostling with him and grabbed the Roo by the throat.

Two minutes later, Jesse Smith ran the ball down field and added a second. The son of former Roo stalwart Ross Smith again showed a capacity to run the ball across the lines and deliver it long into attack.

The Roos were desperate in every contest but it almost proved costly when Glenn Archer crashed into Daniel Pratt in a marking contest and Pratt emerged looking very groggy.

Essendon had been taken aback by the early onslaught but settled and enjoyed a sustained period of control. The Roo defence was under siege and didn't help its cause with a series of misdirected kick-outs.

Josh Gibson was opposed to key Essendon forward Scott Lucas in one of the night's most intriguing match-ups, as Dean Laidley followed the example of the previous two weeks when shorter opponents had successfully managed to quell the Bomber star.

Michael Firrito was given the job on James Hird and covered plenty of ground, creating many attacking moves in his own right, a trend that continued when he was moved away from Hird in the second half.

When the Kangaroos finally launched a smooth attack from a kick-off, the ball finished with Corey Jones who calmly goaled. Brent Harvey added another within a minute in a sequence that was deflating for the Bombers. The Roos then lost Daniel Wells early in the second term with what appeared to be a knee injury.

When the Kangaroos managed to win the ball out of the centre, often through the efforts of big Hamish McIntosh, they looked slicker than their opponents. Daniel Harris was a dominant force in the second term and ran himself ragged.

The Roos were able to find targets up forward and Aaron Edwards soared from behind the pack for the mark of the night, then Leigh Brown kicked truly a minute before half-time.

Grant, quiet until now, chimed in with a lovely goal early in the third term, to answer Bachar Houli's first goal for Essendon. Gibson had bounced back in his duel with Lucas, who always looked the biggest threat throughout the night.

Swallow kicked a terrific goal from a tight situation, opening up a 17-point lead that looked handy in what was then a close contest. The Roos now had a sniff of a chance to set up a decisive break, and the vice-like hands of Edwards ripped another big mark that produced a goal from 15 metres.

Lucas answered promptly but again the Roos were up to the task, and when Grant found space and calmly snared a check-side goal, then McIntosh goaled beautifully from the boundary, the Roos had set themselves up for victory.

Hille had been on top of McIntosh early but in the third term the Roos' big man had been a clear winner. Essendon was on the ropes, as Harvey, Swallow, Grant and Harris were unstoppable.

Grant steered through another from 40 metres in time-on and the lead had blown out to six goals, with the Essendon defence back-pedalling at a rapid rate.

As expected, Essendon mounted a last-quarter charge and narrowed the gap to fewer than four goals, but the Roos again had the answers and steadied to run out 22-point winners, continuing their remarkable Friday night record against Essendon.

They are now 12-1 Friday nights against the Bombers, and have turned around the pre-season predictions from many critics of gloom and doom.

KANGAROOS 4.0 8.5 14.8 18.9 (117)
ESSENDON 2.9 5.11 8.14 13.17 (95)

Goals: Kangaroos: L Brown 4 S Grant 3 C Jones 2 A Edwards 2 D Petrie J Smith B Harvey A Swallow H McIntosh D Hale J Sinclair. Essendon: S Lucas 5 A Davey 2 B Stanton 2 A Monfries J Laycock B Houli C Johns.

Best: Kangaroos: D Harris B Harvey L Brown B Rawlings G Archer H McIntosh J Smith. Essendon: S Lucas J Hird M Johnson D Peverill B Stanton A Lovett J Watson.

Umpires: R Chamberlain D Margetts M Vozzo.

Official crowd: 42,730 at Telstra Dome.