ESSENDON is back in the top four and setting itself up brilliantly for the run home to the finals after an 84-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
The Bombers' withering seven-goal burst in 10 minutes of the first term, which blew the margin out to 45 points, set up the 21.14 (140) to 8.8 (56) win.
Five talking points: Essendon v Western Bulldogs
The efficient Bombers finished the match with only a 54-48 edge in inside 50s, yet had 19 more scoring shots. They had the best forward on the ground in Michael Hurley, who kicked five goals, and the most damaging midfielder in skipper Jobe Watson, who finished with 30 possessions.
Watson collected 14 in the first term and had the best of his Bulldogs counterpart, Matthew Boyd. Liam Picken moved on to Watson in the second term, to better effect, but Watson remained influential throughout the match.
Hurley was a factor anywhere forward of centre, finishing with 22 possessions and 12 marks and didn't appear bothered by the bulky glove on his injured left wrist.
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A feature for the Bombers was their hard running through the centre corridor. Heath Hocking, Brent Stanton and Ben Howlett all won plenty of the football. Michael Hibberd, Courtenay Dempsey and David Myers were the architects across half-back.
The other pleasing aspect for the Bombers was their spread of goalkickers - nine altogether, with seven of them kicking multiple goals.
Essendon coach James Hird said the win wasn't perfect but he would leave the match content.
"Our ball movement was very good," Hird said after the match. "We probably didn't defend the ground as well in parts but I'm not going to complain. I was very happy with the win."
It was a sorry night for the Bulldogs. Coach Brendan McCartney - an assistant coach with the Bombers last season - dispensed with the line meetings at the quarter-time huddle and gave his team an animated bake.
McCartney said he was happy with the first-term fight-back, but was let down by late-match lapses.
"That [effort] disappeared again in the last quarter. I reckon that was the smelliest bit of the day," McCartney said.
"There might be some panic externally with this. There's none internally.
"We're filthy with how we're playing though. We're really disappointed with what we're dishing up."
And it won't get much better any time soon. Defender Robert Murphy was subbed off at half-time because of hamstring soreness. Silky midfielder Ryan Griffen is clearly hobbled by a calf injury, while Adam Cooney's knee condition allows him only the occasional cameo through the midfield. For parts of Saturday night he played as a leading full-forward out of the goalsquare.
Goals appear too hard to come by, particularly with Daniel Giansiracusa out of the side. Liam Jones failed to kick a goal and worryingly, refused to take shots for goal even when inside 50m. Ruckman Will Minson was the leading goalkicker with three. Minson had a good night - he led the hit-outs as well, but McCartney needs more from his stars.
The Bombers are back at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night as the visiting team against St Kilda, while the Western Bulldogs hit the road for a clash with Fremantle on Sunday evening at Patersons Stadium.
ESSENDON 7.5 12.7 15.10 21.14 (140)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.2 3.5 6.7 8.8 (56)
GOALS
Essendon: Hurley 5, Reimers 3, Watson 3, Crameri 2, Ryder 2, Dell'Olio 2, Melksham 2, Hocking, Dempsey.
Western Bulldogs: Minson 3, Liberatore 2, Campbell, Smith, Boyd.
BEST
Essendon: Hurley, Watson, Dempsey, Stanton, Hibberd, Hocking, Reimers.
Western Bulldogs: Minson, Liberatore, Boyd, Picken, Dahlhaus, Smith.
INJURIES
Essendon: TBC
Western Bulldogs: Murphy (left hamstring), Griffen (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Nathan Lovett-Murray replaced Stewart Crameri in the third quarter.
Western Bulldogs: Jordan Roughead replaced Robert Murphy at half-time.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Leppard, Findlay
Official crowd: 40,824 at Etihad Stadium.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne
