ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights says his side's poor first term against Hawthorn on Friday night ultimately cost the Bombers the game.

After trailing by three goals at quarter time, the Bombers dominated much of the second half to lead by a goal midway through the final term.

However, the Lance Franklin-inspired Hawks proved too strong in the end, easing out to a 16-point lead in the end.

"It was really disappointing in the first quarter to give up 18 inside 50s and they probably got hold of us around the stoppages. That told the tale in the end," Knights said.

"I think it was 18 points at quarter time and it ended up at 16 at the end. I was extremely disappointed in the way we played early."

Despite his disappointment, Knights praised the Bombers' efforts to fight back in the second half, saying it was a sign of the team's rising maturity.

"After quarter time, I'd probably agree that we were gallant in our efforts to claw our way back into the game and we did it with some real physicality and then some run through the lines," he said.

"Potentially with this group, maybe in the past we would have not come back as hard, so credit to the group for keeping on coming, but you just can't give a start against a team like that."

With five goals that included two stunning efforts on the run from the boundary line, Franklin was the spark for the Hawks and Knights conceded that the 2008 Coleman Medallist was simply too good on the night.

"Certainly, Franklin's goal in front of the boundary where he took four or five bounces and nailed it from 50 is one of the better goals you'll ever see," he said.

"That certainly got Hawthorn excited again, I felt, and probably gave them some belief going into that last 10 or 12 minutes."

The Essendon coach defended his decision to leave Cale Hooker on Franklin for much of the night, saying the young full-back was just as capable of quelling the Hawk star as fellow backs Dustin Fletcher and Tayte Pears.

He also praised the efforts of Andrew Welsh, who restricted Brownlow Medal fancy Luke Hodge to just 12 touches, and young ruckman Tom Bellchambers, who presented an option up forward in the second half.

Despite all the positives, the fact remains that Essendon has lost its past three games heading into the mid-season break and Knights said that was a galling stat for his players.

"Over the last six or eight weeks as a club or a team, we've really moved forward. Our footy's been a lot more consistent," he said.

"We've been in seven out of eight of those games… but it's very frustrating to go in with three losses into the break, having played some decent footy in two of those three games.

"We've got a lot of work to do in the second half of the year."