ESSENDON coach Brad Scott is relieved the Bombers learned a "harsh lesson" through a thrilling one-point win rather than a monumental West Coast upset result.
The Bombers were given an almighty scare when the cellar-dwelling Eagles overcame a 30-point deficit to claw back the lead with just 100 seconds left on the clock.
A game-saving goal from Kyle Langford saved the game for the Bombers, but Brad Scott is hoping his side will learn a lesson from the near-miss.
"Part of the challenge we've got to work through is that we are a very young and inexperienced team who have shown an ability to get up for games against a really high-quality of opposition," Scott said post-game.
"One of the third hallmarks of a young and inexperienced team is that potentially when they think things are just going to happen for them, they learn a harsh lesson.
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"Now fortunately, we learned a harsh lesson with a one-point win when rather than a five-point loss.
"We've got the four points. We've won 10 games, and with three games to go, we're still in the hunt."
The Eagles nearly pinched their second win in as many weeks, after 16 losses in a row, leaving coach Adam Simpson ruing what might have been.
"It's a missed opportunity, absolutely no doubt about that," Simpson said.
"We hit the front with one minute 40 (seconds) to go; we haven't been in that position a lot.
"We'll learn from a coaching point of view as well, it was just good to be in the game two weeks in a row.
"Guys really fighting hard for the victory, but unfortunately we couldn't ice it."
