Melbourne overcame the loss of injured captain Max Gawn and gave its AFL finals hopes a huge boost with a thrilling 17-point win over Essendon.
With Gawn looking on with a broken fibula, the Demons enjoyed the wet conditions and shot out to a 41-point lead in the final period before withstanding a late challenge to win 13.6 (84) to 10.7 (67) at the MCG on Saturday.
Trent Rivers (29 possessions, eight clearances) continued his strong form in midfield and rookie striker Daniel Turner scored three goals, while Kysaiah Pickett celebrated his 100-game milestone with two majors in front of 52,866 fans.
The result moved Melbourne (10-7) up to sixth place in the rankings ahead of Sunday’s games.
“I liked the way we defended for much of the game and our competitive play was strong until the final 10 minutes,” said Demons coach Simon Goodwin.
“Combine that with the development of the younger players and the strong performances of some of the leading players and it was a good night for the football club.
“I hope our fans are proud of our group because they played well.”
The Bombers (10-6-1) would have moved up to second place with a win, but could only finish in seventh place at the end of the round.
Key forwards Jacob van Rooyen and Harry Petty shared ruck duties for Melbourne in Gawn’s absence and were outdone in the air by Essendon’s Sam Draper.
But the Demons duo were able to hold their own on the pitch and it was their team that had the upper hand in the clearance and turf wars at the decisive moment.
“It’s unpredictable for us and also for the opposition if you don’t have a dominant ruckman like Max (Gawn),” said Goodwin.
“You plan a little differently for your opponent and we always started with the plan to share the load with Petty, van Rooyen and a bit of Turner.
“We just wanted to find out what would work for us that night and I thought they did a great job.”
Jake Melksham once again proved to be a key link player for Melbourne in his second game back from a lengthy knee injury, finishing with 2.1 points and six goal involvements from 12 possessions.
Steven May was outstanding as the Demons’ defensive leader and Bayley Fritsch scored three goals.
Draper (20 possessions, seven clearances) was one of Essendon’s best players, Jordan Ridley (29 touches) was busy and Nic Martin kicked four goals – three of them in the final period.
But the Bombers, who scored three of the first four goals before relinquishing control, were no match for their stronger and hungrier opponents.
Martin kicked the first goal of the final quarter to give Essendon 11 points, but Melbourne secured the next five points with a decisive 11-minute run.
Bombers coach Brad Scott lamented his team’s defensive errors, poor execution, competitiveness and inability to adapt to conditions.
“It’s really frustrating because Melbourne played well but we still managed 56 inside 50 yards and created enough chances,” Scott said.
“But we conceded fairly normal goals and were only able to play the game the way we wanted in the last ten minutes, when it was all too little and too late.”