ESSENDON coach John Worsfold was pleased his side didn't allow Geelong a "walk in the park" win on Sunday, but admits the club needs to address its goalkicking woes to progress next year. 

The Bombers avoided a huge blowout against the percentage-chasing Cats, losing by 66 points at Etihad Stadium to extend their streak of 17 straight defeats.

Essendon's accuracy was again an issue, with the Bombers missing several straightforward shots at goal that could have evened things further in the lacklustre contest.

Five talking points: Geelong v Essendon

The Cats had made no secrets they wanted to claim a big win to catch up on percentage with other top-four hopefuls, but the Bombers were able to dry their scoring at different stages of the match.

"I don't think it was a walk in the park for them. We had our opportunities. In that last quarter we matched them I thought other than the class to finish off," Worsfold said after the loss.

"But we certainly got the ball forward and had shots at goal. We had a couple of shots at goal that we missed and they went down and kicked theirs which blew the scoreline out probably more than I thought it deserved at that point.

"But the fact that we kept running hard and taking the game on in that last quarter, I was really proud of."

Worsfold said the club was already planning ways it could improve its kicking for goal over the pre-season as poor accuracy continues to dog its 2016 campaign.

"A big part of it is having the desire to improve it individually and as a team, and not feeling the pressure to say 'We need to keep kicking straighter so now I'm under more pressure'," he said.

"There's a little challenge there, but ultimately we expect in the future we'll take a lot more marks more in front of goal, and we'll have worked on our ability to nail them."

First-year Bomber Aaron Francis was used in attack against the Cats, but Worsfold flagged giving the 18-year-old a rest in coming weeks after fatiguing in parts of the game.

The coach was unsure about the severity of Brendon Goddard's groin injury, which ended the Bombers captain's day midway through the first term.

But he was pleased with the way his side covered for the 31-year-old, whose experience was sorely missed against the Cats.

"[He was] a massive loss for us, obviously," he said.

"Not having our most senior player out there for the majority of the game is a big loss in a team that really needs everyone out there, but I was really proud of the way they stepped up to cover that loss and to play a man down throughout the majority of the game.

"I thought the players stayed positive, and backed themselves in and weren't good enough, but threw everything at Geelong."

In the likelihood Goddard is unavailable for next week's clash with Gold Coast, the Bombers will need to appoint a new captain for the contest with vice-captain Mark Baguley recovering from knee surgery.

The Bombers reshaped their leadership group after 12 of their players were hit with season-long bans for anti-doping breaches, elevating David Zaharakis, Zach Merrett, Joe Daniher and James Gwilt into the group.

Gwilt is also out with a knee injury, which would leave Worsfold to choose between Merrett, Zaharakis and Daniher to lead the Bombers.

Merrett is on the way to collecting Essendon's best and fairest as he pieces together an outstanding season (just his third at AFL level) and Worsfold would have no qualms about giving the short-term role to the 20-year-old. 

"I'd be more than comfortable to throw it to Zach Merrett, but we'll talk about what's going to be best for the group in terms of next week," he said.

"Those guys have been outstanding all year on and off the field, at training through the week and in driving the standards. They'll all expect to do the same, just that one of them will toss the coin next week."