Posting its third win of the season, St Kilda rebounded well from two straight losses to beat the Bombers - 18.15 (123) to 14.3 (87).
Leading by nine goals early in the third term, the Saints were en route to an easy victory but had to defend a brave Essendon charge that at one stage cut the margin to 16 points.
In a tense final term, the Saints restored their early dominance to kick five goals to two and run out 36-point winners.
Stephen Milne kicked both of his goals when it counted most - in the final quarter - while captain Nick Riewoldt kicked three in an enthralling battle with Patrick Ryder.
Without dual best and fairest Scott Lucas, and with skipper Matthew Lloyd well held by dour Saints defender Max Hudghton, the Bombers were dysfunctional up forward in the opening half.
Every Essendon goal came from an arduous passage of play with just one of its six first-half majors coming from a mark inside its forward 50.
In a fine defensive effort, Hudghton kept Lloyd to three possessions in the opening half.
The spearhead, who overcame calf soreness to take his place in the side, finished the match goalless.
At the other end, St Kilda peppered the big sticks in every possible manner as the goals came thick and fast from a staggering 10 individual goalkickers in the opening half.
With Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo, David Armitage and Robert Harvey dominating in the midfield and a rock solid defence repelling everything that came its way, the St Kilda forward line lapped up every opportunity.
Charlie Gardiner made good on his inclusion to kick two early goals while Luke Ball and Milne were in the thick of activity at ground level.
Ball moved as freely as he has in years to gather nine possessions and kick two goals in a display that had Saints fans buzzing at the main break.
So dominant were the Saints they led the inside 50 count 30 to 19 and, despite having only six more possessions, looked a far superior side.
When Justin Koschitzke opened the second half scoring with a goal at the two-minute mark it looked a massive margin in the making.
Trailing by 51 points early in the third term, and seemingly dead in the water, Essendon - like it did last week against the Bulldogs - staged a miraculous and courageous comeback.
From nowhere the intensity, pressure and run that was so lacking for the entire first half materialised to give the Dons some life.
Adam McPhee got the ball rolling with a goal at the five-minute mark and, five minutes later, Tayte Pears kicked his first of the match to make it four in six minutes and cut the margin to 27 points.
St Kilda was shell-shocked and it continued when Jay Nash drilled home a long running goal and Ryder kicked another two minutes later, to bring the margin under three goals for the first time since early in the second term.
Essendon fans came alive. The siren for the last break could not come fast enough for the Saints who got a much-needed steadier from Riewoldt eight seconds before the siren.
With the stage set for a battle of wills in the final term, it was the Saints who prevailed through Milne, Armitage and Riewoldt.
A minute into the final term, Milne's first snap came from the left forward pocket with the second from the opposite pocket to keep the Saints comfortably clear.
Adam McPhee produced the goal of the night, and possibly the year, with a freakish effort under extreme pressure from hard up on the boundary.
It would the final highlight for the Bombers.
St Kilda, sensing the end was near, slowed the game down to run out the clock and record its third win of the year.
Harvey starred with 29 possessions, Dal Santo had 26 despite copping a heavy knock to his left shoulder while Hayes (25), Sam Fisher and Hudghton were superb all night.
For the Bombers, Ryder did a fine job on Riewoldt while youngster Bachar Houli was superb off half-back in gathering 23 possessions and two goals.
David Hille, Brent Stanton and Kyle Reimers were other Bombers to shine on a night when the side struggled to produce a four-quarter display.
St Kilda 5.3 12.9 14.12 18.15 (123)
Essendon 3.0 6.1 12.1 14.3 (87)
GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Koschitzke 2, Armitage 2, Ball 2, Milne 2, C. Gardiner 2, King, Clarke, Montagna, Dempster, Hayes
Essendon: Houli 2, Lovett 2, McPhee 2, Pears, Stanton, Ramanauskas, Welsh, Nash, Laycock, Ryder, Stanton
BEST
St Kilda: Harvey, Hudghton, Dal Santo, S. Fisher, Hayes, Goddard, Milne
Essendon: Houli, B Stanton, Watson, Reimers, Lovett, Hille
INJURIES
St Kilda: King (hamstring/back spasm), Dal Santo (shoulder)
Essendon: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Vozzo, Nicholls, Jeffery
Official crowd: 46,792 at Telstra Dome
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
