1. Eagles crumble at the contest
After they were beaten in contested ball 163-141 by Hawthorn in round five, the Eagles reset with a focus on winning the battle at the coalface. They won three consecutive games and amassed 24 more hard balls thatn their opponents across those matches, but Sunday's match was a serious regression. A physical Essendon team outmuscled West Coast. The Bombers won the contested possessions 85-52 in the first half and they tackled ruthlessly. A lot of their physical efforts didn't appear on the stats sheet, such as Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti's battering of the Eagles' defenders to create space and opportunities. The Bombers shrugged their opponents' tackles with ease, but when it was their time to wrap an opponent up they did it with purpose and aggression. The final contested possessions count was 143-113, resulting in a massive advantage in overall possessions (452-332).  

Full match coverage and stats

2. Joe and his Dons make it count
The Bombers' brilliant ball-movement is making life easy for the forwards, who are taking their chances in recent weeks. On Sunday, Essendon had one more inside 50 and six more scoring shots but won by a massive 61 points. While the Eagles sprayed set shots, the Bombers got the ball in dangerous place and kicked goals on the run. Daniher's 1.6 against Melbourne in round six seems a lifetime ago after hauls of three, five and five. He converted at 100 per cent on Sunday, while the team's small forwards added seven goals between them in what is one of the AFL's most dangerous forward lines.    

WATCH: Joey shines as Dons dismantle Eagles

3. Eleni creates History
This was an important game of footy for Essendon and West Coast, but it was an historic one for the whistleblowers as Eleni Glouftsis became the first female field umpire to officiate a senior VFL/AFL match. She was met with a warm reception from the fans and a number of players went out of their way to wish her well, but most importantly she did a terrific job at a time when umpires are under unprecedented scrutiny. With 33 VFL games over the past season and a half to her name, and 15 SANFL games, Glouftsis has made a steady rise and she eased into Sunday's match with the second centre bounce of the game. With a freshly laid patch of grass in the centre circle, Glouftsis threw the ball up in the second half on the advice of umpires coach Hayden Kennedy.The umpires were in the spotlight early, with a lopsided 9-1 free kick count in Essendon's favour.

4. If you're going to tag, this is how it's done
Before the opening bounce, Eagle Jack Redden sidled up to Zach Merrett (32.4 possessions a game this season) and Bomber Travis Colyer stood with Andrew Gaff (31.8). It appeared both teams had defensive plans for their opponent's main ball winner, but only one would stick to the task. At half time, Merrett had 21 possessions and Gaff had just seven. Redden should not wear the sole blame for Merrett's final tally of 37 possessions, with the Eagles adopting a team approach to the ball-winner that was ineffective. Likewise, Colyer's job should be given more credit than Gaff's final tally of 26 touches would suggest, with the damage done in the first half and the tag relaxed when the result was settled.      

5. Essendon fans have long memories
It wasn't just the Essendon players who had a plan for Sam Mitchell on Sunday, it was the fans in the stands as well. From the champion midfielder's first possession he was booed by the crowd, and it didn't stop. Their displeasure at Mitchell stretches back to June of 2015 when Mitchell, as a Hawk, taunted his opponents on-field by mimicking an injection. Sunday was Mitchell's first game against the Bombers since, and it wasn't made easy for him. A big moment came early in the second quarter when Mitchell, crossing attacking 50m and lining up the goals, was chased down by Josh Green in a brilliant defensive effort. The ball was swept to the other end of the ground where Joe Daniher kicked his fourth goal, opening up a 35-point lead that would only get bigger. Mitchell finished with 24 possessions, spending time at half-forward.