The lead changed five times in the last term, and Essendon looked in the box seat when Joe Daniher put through a long set shot at the 24-minute mark to give the Bombers a four-point advantage.

But Motlop put Geelong back in front with a running banana kick, before Tom Hawkins kicked the match-sealing goal with four seconds left on the clock.

"We didn't play well enough in the third quarter and let them in, and then the last quarter was just a real grind," Scott said after the match. 

"And in the crucial contests late in the game, when you really need your players to stand up, it's always nice when … the luck is on your side."

While much of the build-up centred around Paul Chapman's first meeting with the club he helped win three premierships, the 2009 Norm Smith medallist had little impact on the game.

Chapman gathered only five disposals in the first three quarters and finished with 11. Although he played up forward, where he was picked up by Jed Bews, he didn't register a score. 

Chapman's 11 possessions were the fewest he's recorded in a full game since the 2008 qualifying final. 

Jimmy Bartel, Andrew Mackie, James Kelly, Joel Selwood, Duncan and Motlop were among the stars for the winners, who improved their 2014 record to 10-4 and moved, for a day at least, back into the top four.

Selwood's performance, in which he booted two goals and gathered 26 disposals, was particularly meritorious given he appeared troubled by a hamstring injury on a number of occasions during the game.

Hawkins led the way for the Cats on the scoreboard with three goals, while Shane Kersten joined Selwood, Duncan and Motlop in booting two.

The second of Kersten's goals came after Allen Christensen appeared to dish off a questionable handball to him late in the second term.

Essendon's effort could not be faulted, but the Bombers will be disappointed to have missed a golden opportunity to move into the top eight.

Dyson Heppell was a brilliant performer all game for the Dons with a career-best 40 possessions, 12 more than any other player on the ground. 

David Zaharakis and Brendon Goddard were also impressive, although Goddard managed to inadvertently collect teammate Ben Howlett in the second quarter. 

"Third quarter was terrific footy … perfect play," Essendon coach Mark Thompson said. 

"In the last quarter it started to break down a bit, we started to look vulnerable at times.

"(It was) hard work to get in front and then it seemed relatively easy to lose it."

Thompson's men, who drop to 7-7 with the defeat, face another tough assignment when they take on Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in a Saturday night game next weekend.

The Cats, meanwhile, will be favourites to post their 11th win of the season when they host the Western Bulldogs in a Sunday twilight clash at Simonds Stadium.