A BIG second half has helped Essendon shake free of Gold Coast and keep its final eight hopes flickering with a 44-point win at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

After trailing by five points at half-time the Bombers put together 15 minutes of clean football early in the third term to give themselves breathing space on the way to a 13.17 (95) to 6.15 (51) victory.

They kicked nine goals to two after the main break to make it six wins in eight matches and momentarily move one win plus percentage outside the eight.

BOMBERS STAY AFLOAT Full match report and stats

Coach John Worsfold conceded the Bombers weren't at their best, but was happy to take the premiership points after losing to Collingwood last Sunday.

"The first 10 minutes we started to get the game going our way, and had a bit of the ball, but then the next 20 minutes was pretty average," Worsfold said.

"The boys just went away from playing the style of footy we want to play but they addressed that and improved it a fair bit in the second quarter, but really knuckled down in that second half."

The loss was Gold Coast's 11th straight – the second longest losing streak in club history.

For the victors, skipper Dyson Heppell (36 disposals) led superbly, while Zach Merrett (37) also made the most of playing without a tag.

Michael Hurley (24 and 10 marks) and Cale Hooker (19 and nine marks) cut off a stack of Suns forward forays, while Adam Saad (19) had a mixed return to Metricon Stadium, offering plenty of drive, but also conceding three goals to tagger Nick Holman.

The match won't go down as a classic, but the Bombers were far too good.

After Gold Coast battled hard in the first two terms the tide turned in the third with quick goals to Darcy Parish, Mitch Brown, Mark Baguley and David Myers offering some breathing space.

It was the first time the Bombers have won a third term since round nine.

SAAD'S MIXED BAG Five talking points

Although not playing anywhere near their best, they thoroughly deserved to win, dominating disposals (424-308) and inside 50s (66-47).

Suns coach Stuart Dew lamented his team's inability to create more of a gap in the first half.

"What I made of the first half was how we want to play footy and build the footy club," Dew said.

"It's been a bit of a pattern in the last month, we started well, haven't cashed in, but when teams get their turn, they put four goals on us.

"There's some stuff that we like … but they're just not able to sustain it at the moment.

"It's frustrating."

The win was Essendon's fourth interstate victory this year, just the second time in club history they've achieved that feat – also doing so in 2012.

Devon Smith provided the only highlight from an abysmal first half from both teams, somehow threading the needle with a clever dribble kick from deep in the left forward pocket to kick Essendon's second goal.

But unfortunately, the half was marred by a glut of turnovers as the ball pinged from one team to the other – and then usually back again.

In the same week he extended his contract by a year, Holman was excellent for the Suns, while Jarrod Harbrow with 25 touches, Jack Martin (20) and captain Steven May (19) also tried hard – May doing so with an injured hip.

The Suns were fierce around the contest early but not clean enough to take advantage of their dominance.

MEDICAL ROOM
Gold Coast: After overcoming a hip injury sustained last Sunday against North Melbourne, captain Steven May aggravated the problem when he landed hard in a marking contest early in the third quarter. He was clearly hobbled but played the game out and coach Stuart Dew said May was okay post-match.

Essendon: The only problem for the Bombers came prior to the match with small forward Orazio Fantasia a late scratching, unable to overcome a groin niggle. Coach John Worsfold said post-match that Fantasia trained on Saturday morning and expected him to be available next week.

NEXT UP
Essendon will try to keep its finals chances alive next Saturday when it hosts Fremantle at Etihad Stadium in the twilight game. Things get no easier for Gold Coast, travelling south to play Sydney on Saturday – the club where Stuart Dew was an assistant coach for seven years before taking the Suns' senior job.

GOLD COAST   2.8       4.11     4.14     6.15 (51)
ESSENDON     2.4       4.6       8.10     13.17 (95)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Holman 3, Young 2, Sexton
Essendon: Baguley 3, Guelfi 2, McKernan 2, Smith, Long, Parish, Brown, Myers, McDonald-Tipungwuti

BEST 
Gold Coast: Holman, May, Martin, Miller
Essendon: Hurley, Smith, Hooker, Heppell, Merrett, Langford

INJURIES 
Gold Coast: Steven May (hip)
Essendon: Nil

Reports: Nil 

Umpires: Nicholls, Fleer, Glouftsis 

Official crowd: 13,061 at Metricon Stadium