ESSENDON coach John Worsfold has lauded his team's effort to "hang in and fight" out a 17-point against a fast-finishing Geelong at the MCG on Saturday night.
The Bombers were 40 points clear at three-quarter time before the Cats stormed back to within 10 points at the 19-minute mark of the last quarter, before the Dons steadied with the 2.0 to 0.6 in the dying stages.
The inconsistent Essendon has squared its ledger at 4-4 and will fancy its chances of defeating West Coast at Etihad Stadium next Sunday.
A relieved Worsfold was enthused by what he saw from his team, praising a more consistent effort that indicated his players were "getting that run back in their legs for longer periods".
"We've got some work to do. We're still adding things to the way we want to play – that's the exciting part," Worsfold said in his post-match press conference.
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"We knew (our season) was going to be a little bit up and down, but in most games we've played some really good footy.
"To hang in and fight through that tonight was outstanding. We need more of that, and that's our challenge …
"I'm seeing a group that is holding each other accountable.
"Our senior leaders tonight … were all very strong contributors and they're going to demand that some of the younger players follow their lead."
Five talking points: Bombers v Cats
One of the big discussion points on the night was the tackle count, which Essendon won resoundingly, 81 to 39 – a result that pleased the coach.
"It's an area of improvement that we're looking for, so we're working on it, and the players showed that they're buying into how (we) want to play the game, which was great," Worsfold said.
WATCH Full John Worsfold post-match press conference
As for the final term, in which Essendon conceded six of the first seven goals before closing out the game, Worsfold was happy just to hold off the Cats.
"It was just a very good team rolling the dice, going full-on attack and they got forward a couple of times and took a couple of good marks in space inside 50," he said.
"But that opened them up to some rebounds, which our boys were good enough to get as well and just keep that margin safe enough.
"We knew they would come at us. We were just a little bit disappointed with a couple of turnovers that let them get that real fast break."
