1. The winners aren't always the grinners
St Kilda might have won but Essendon came away with far more positives. Joe Daniher was quiet in the opening half but showed his maturity by putting together an excellent third term, and continued to look dangerous in the final quarter. A role in attack for Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was promising, with two goals, four goal assists, five tackles and a nice contested mark against Daniel McKenzie in the third term to set up a goal for Daniher. In defence, Michael Hartley shut Josh Bruce out of the contest and he had plenty prepared to support him, with Patrick Ambrose another who was very impressive.

WATCH: Tippa shines in forward role

2. Don't argue with Joe, or he'll take a screamer
With scores level at 85, midway through the final term, Essendon was on the verge of a remarkable second victory of the season. It needed someone to stand up and it was Daniher, who almost stood on Sam Gilbert's shoulders in what was perhaps the new leader in the mark of the year competition. He missed the relatively simple shot, but Zach Merrett would snap one through soon afterwards. It was a brilliant second half from Daniher, who took the lead from Richmond star Dustin Martin when he delivered a fend-off in the third quarter to Saints wrecking ball Maverick Weller, leaving Orazio Fantasia to run in and slot his second goal. It was an uplifting act that sparked a period of Essendon domination, with Sam Michael taking a brilliant pack mark and Jayden Laverde chasing down Shane Savage and booting a goal from the resultant free kick to put the Dons ahead by three points.

Full match coverage and stats

3. Yet another slow start for St Kilda
It was apparent early in last week's loss to the Gold Coast that the Saints were off. The issue has lingered for Alan Richardson's men this season and it reared its head again versus Essendon. After about 10 minutes of play, the Bombers led the inside-50 count 10-0. At least this time the Saints were able to respond by eventually finishing on top in the quarter 18-14, although their ability to work back into the contest may have been largely due to coming up against the team on the bottom of the ladder. Coming out of the blocks quicker is a very real problem St Kilda should work hard on rectifying before year's end.

4. St Kilda's forward line needs more time to gel
The loss of Paddy McCartin to his third concussion of the season hurts for many reasons, but not least because it robs the Saints of more time to become comfortable with working together. Nick Riewoldt, Josh Bruce and Tim Membrey all love to fly for their marks, as they should seeing as they all excel in the air. However, with so many marking targets, situations sometimes arise where two teammates go for the same ball, when a block from one of those involved would be more appropriate. Chemistry comes with time together, and there have been improvements in this facet, but more is needed if the forward line is to reach its potential.

5. Class in the wings, and it needs to come in
On Saturday afternoon, Jack Billings (37 disposals) and Jack Sinclair (36) were among the better players for Sandringham. While both have areas upon which they can improve, their class and foot skills are important to this Saints outfit. That could not have been more apparent in the second term when St Kilda was struggled with its ball use and made multiple basic errors. That seemed to be at least partly because of a lapse in concentration, but it nevertheless served as evidence of the lack of polish in this team. Better teams will punish the Saints if they continue to play at the level they showed against the Bombers.