ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights has praised the “amazing” spirit and courage of his players after the Bombers secured a dramatic four-point win over Fremantle in a tough, physical encounter at Subiaco Oval.

Both sides were ferocious in their attack on the ball in a desperate final quarter as Fremantle, with only one fit player on the bench, clawed back a 24-point deficit to almost steal an unlikely victory.

The Bombers had also suffered with a string of players heading off under the blood rule during a hard-hitting first half. Jobe Watson, Andrew Welsh and David Myers all required treatment for facial cuts, while Knights confirmed that Adam McPhee was also groggy from a first-half clash.

With less than a minute left on the clock, it was McPhee who emerged as the hero as he recklessly threw his body into a bone-crunching contest with Byron Schammer to thwart Fremantle's final attack.

Knights said McPhee’s selfless act summed up the desperation of the Bombers.

“What do you say? After about 99 per cent of the game and you get two individuals who run at the ball like they did,” Knights said.

“That’s why it’s such a great game. That players can commit themselves to contests like that, similar to last week when (Chris) Judd and (Matthew) Lloyd clashed.

“From our perspective, (we're) really proud of Adam to commit himself like that. He’s a very courageous player.”

The victory was Essendon’s third in a row, and Knights said his players should take full credit for bouncing back from a string of eight consecutive losses.

“It’s great to have a win, great to string three wins together,” Knights said.

“It’s a real credit to our players. It would have been easy for them when we went through a tough patch to go into their shells, but their spirit has been amazing on the training track.

“And when you’ve got a young side, they just keep generating their own energy, and that’s been a real plus for us over the last month.”

Despite the hat-trick of victories, Knights was determined not to be distracted by talk of finals.

“My mantra as a coach is develop the Essendon footy club and go after the vision of bringing a young group together aggressively.

“Even though we’ve won three in a row we must work harder now as a group to get better and execute the game style we want to play.”

The Bombers also lost key defender Dustin Fletcher with a suspected fractured hand, but Knights remained confident that he would only miss one or two games.