1. Hooker looks a fine forward
Essendon coach John Worsfold has had to defend the decision to keep Cale Hooker in attack on several occasions this season. The former backman won the best and fairest in 2015 but was thrown forward to provide another marking target alongside Joe Daniher. On Saturday night though, Hooker was well and truly the main man. He won a free kick against Hamish Hartlett for holding the ball and slotted the first goal of the game. A couple of snaps and two contested marks later and Hooker had five in the first half. That would be his final tally – a new career best. Booting so many goals gave him plenty of chances to practise his passionate fist pumps, with his animated celebrations matched only by those of the Bombers' faithful. 

Full match coverage and statistics

2. Bomber blitz
Quite simply, Essendon started the game on fire. Streaming in waves off half-back, the Bombers dominated the first term and kicked seven goals from 19 inside-50s, but it was the way they played that had their supporters in full voice. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti climbed on Jack Hombsch's shoulders in the goalsquare and almost hauled what would have been close to the finest mark of the year and again excited when he took three bounces and slotted a running goal. His partner-in-crime Orazio Fantasia went on a brilliant run through the middle of the ground while Joe Daniher rolled a goal past Justin Westhoff's legs while being tackled. At 6-6, Essendon is in the top eight and has a genuine chance of staying there in the second half of the season. 

3. What does this mean for Port?
It was a bad omen for Port Adelaide when the banner was late on to the ground. The players ran out and were forced to wait for the cheer squad to stand the banner up. Similarly, Port was slow to start the game and was flat in the opening term. It seemed unable to stop an Essendon side that started to play with arrogance, such was its level of dominance. The Power came into the game with a percentage of 148.6, a mark that suggested it was better than its 6-4 record. By game's end, it had fallen almost 16 percentage points to 133.0. Ken Hinkley's men have earned a second chance with their excellent football this season but the lacklustre performance can't be totally ignored.

WATCH: Bombers' first-half blitz against Power

4. No love for Paddy
The pro-Essendon crowd was thrilled to see its side dominate but it wasn't happy about Paddy Ryder playing for Port, booing him every time he touched the footy. He was traded at the end of 2014 and had to sit out last year with a doping ban as part of his time at the Bombers but despite the ruckman having endured a tumultuous time at his former club, the fans haven't forgiven Ryder for leaving. He had the better of Tom Bellchambers in the ruck but it wasn't enough to stem the fearsome red and black tide. 

5. A couple of goals to remember
There were queries about whether former Bombers captain Jobe Watson looked a touch slow for the modern game. He was important on Saturday night but his best moment came at the start of the final quarter, when he snapped a goal. There was seemingly nothing special about it, except that it was his first since round nine, 2015, against Richmond – 742 days ago. Meanwhile, young Port midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper had his own great effort, on a down day while attempting to do a job on Dyson Heppell. In the third quarter though, Powell-Pepper went past James Kelly and brutalised Martin Gleeson with a vicious fend-off before slotting a goal on the run from just inside 50. It was meaningless to the result but brilliant to watch.