AN INEXPERIENCED forward line, combined with inconsistent pressure proved to be a recipe for disaster for Essendon on Saturday afternoon.

The club's 61-point loss to Adelaide was headlined by a 59-129 mark differential, which allowed the Crows to control the game, with little done by the Bombers to interrupt that control.

BOMBERS v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

"It's been a long time since we've conceded uncontested marks and lost (the) pressure differential by as much as we did today, so that part of the game was really foundational for us," Essendon coach Brad Scott said following the loss.

"I'm going to drill down more on pressure, because uncontested marks correlate with pressure, so what happened a lot of the time is, if we lost the ball, their mids and forwards were spreading expecting the ball to come back."

The ability to compete ahead of the ball and if not win contests, at least halve them to win time close to goal was a major concern for Scott, albeit with the concession that the likes of Nate Caddy (12 games), Isaac Kako (two), and Tom Edwards (one) had limited experience at the top level.

"We got the ball inside 50 48 times, scored 25 times, but (it's) very frustrating to go inside 50 and lose critical contests, and we need to get better in that space because the way the game unfolded, we'd lose a critical mark inside 50 and they'd find an uncontested mark really quickly and bounce us from that," Scott said.

"That makes it hard to build any pressure to play your style, put our last line defenders under enormous pressure, so that part of the game was disappointing for us."

There was a reluctance from Scott to lay any of that frustration on the method in which the ball was being sent forward, instead a bigger concern was the way in which his Bombers defended the turnover.

Essendon lost the disposal count by 41, while also losing the tackles 48-60.

"If we had a better contest forward of the ball we put more pressure on, but that doesn't excuse the inability to defend behind the ball," Scott said.

Adelaide's 161 points is the most kicked by a non-Victorian team at the MCG since 2013, and the most that Essendon has conceded at the venue since 2011. The visitors enjoyed 12 different goalkickers, seven of whom kicked multiple majors.

It follows a similar spread generated in last week's 63-point win over St Kilda, in which six of Adelaide's 12 goalkickers bagged multiples.

Such a broad and devastating avenue to goal is something Crows coach Matthew Nicks is pleased with, knowing that consistency is key to a successful side, and credits the defensive work of the team to generate turnover for its potency.

"It comes off our defence, so some of it comes off the transition or a contest," Nicks explained.

"The better we compete, the better field position we have, able to turn the ball over in areas where we can play back through teams. I don't know what we kicked from turnover today exactly in the end, but it was a lot. You know, that's us getting the ball back. That's transitioning and working hard in areas we know we have to, rather than waiting for the opposition to make a mistake.

"We're trying to force that on the opposition so that helps our offence. That intercept score is a really important one for us."

For the second week in a row, Nicks has opted to sub out one of his forwards to limit opportunity, choosing to put Izak Rankine on ice not long after a stunning, long-range goal from the boundary.

Every Crow, except for the inactive Kieran Strachan, was available for selection this week, offering Nicks plenty of choice at the selection table.

"We're in a unique position where we can make a decision around where the game's at. And probably Izak's history on the MCG is one that sits in the back of your mind as a coach," Nicks said, referring to Rankine's hamstring injury suffered at the venue in last year's close loss to Collingwood.

"We know it's a really long season and we want to make the right decisions, if we get an opportunity to manage a player when it comes to their loads, we'll do that."

Nicks also confirmed that second-gamer Sid Draper copped a knock to the knee, but was able to play out the game.