Tom Bellchambers has strengthened his claim for a senior recall with a commanding performance in the VFL side's 89 point win over Coburg.
The ruckman booted six goals, pulled down six marks and collected 23 disposals in a best on ground performance as the Bombers stormed to their third win of the season.
“T-Bell’s leadership has been fantastic," Assistant Coach Wayne Schultz said.
"His ability to stick to the team things has been great.
“When you do the little things right, the rewards will come.”
Kyle Langford was also impressive finishing with a game-high 35 disposals, seven marks, four tackles and two goals.
“He’s been going really well, credit to him today, I thought he played really well on the inside and at times he played well on the outside,” Schultz said.
“He had good method and got the reward from playing his role well.”
It was a slow start for the Bombers, going into the first break 13 points behind the Lions.
“The effort from the boys was there in the first quarter,” Schultz said.
“We know Coburg are really strong with their contested football, they love that brand.
“We felt we matched that in the first quarter, we went away from that though in the second quarter.
“We just need to be a bit more aggressive with our press and lift the bar with the pressure on the ball.”
A seven goal third quarter turned the game in the Dons favour as they went into the final change with a 30 point lead.
“They identified the problems and in the second half we really improved in that space,” Schultz said.
“They did well with stepping up in the second half. The ability to listen to the messages at half time and the attitude and application to take that into the game was outstanding.
“We stuck to our brand really well and that really helped us finish off the second half.
“Our ability to persevere with the game and continue to stick to the things that we do well was really pleasing.”
Essendon's forward line was smaller than in recent weeks, but the lack of height had no impact on the amount of opportunities they were able to generate.
“I think the ability for the boys to adjust each week has been brilliant,” Schultz said.
“At times if we didn’t have the tall forwards, the communication from the guys has been outstanding to adjust accordingly to our forward line structure.
“They were able to lower their eyes a little bit more and play to our strengths. I think that’s a real credit for the team.
“Regardless of the dynamics, we have a really good balance across all lines.
“Each week is going to be a little bit different. That’s the nature of the beast.”
Despite the missing talls, the Bombers were able to boot 22 goals and run away with an 89 point win.
Essendon 22.18.150 def. Coburg 9.7.61
Goals: Bellchambers 6, Begley 4, Boyse 3, Langford 2, Holmes 2, Mutch, Redman, Hocking, McNiece, Marklew
Disposals: Langford 35, Howlett 32, Redman 26, Clarke 26, Bellchambers 23
