Essendon was left wondering what might have been after going down to Hawthorn by 27 points at Box Hill City Oval in round seven.

In a topsy-turvy contest, play was marked by long sieges of pressure from both backlines.

Essendon dominated forward entry for no reward in the second quarter before the momentum shifted in the second half and Hawthorn began to ask the question of the Bomber defenders.

Trailing by 20 points at the final change, Essendon couldn’t hold the fourth-placed Hawks at bay and a pair of quick goals snuffed out any faint hopes of a maiden win.

A late silver lining came when Jess Trend snapped her first goal for Essendon to finish the club’s first VFLW/M double header 2.2 (14) to 5.11 (41).

Hawthorn burst out of the blocks before Val Moreau roosted through the Bombers’ first from a set shot halfway through the term. Essendon worked hard and smart to pepper the ball forward. The missed opportunities became a double-whammy when the Hawks pegged one against the flow just before half time.

The relentlessness of Essendon’s defensive pressure in the third quarter showed on the scoreboard as the harried Hawks scrounged just seven behinds in a quarter of control.

However, no matter the integrity of the backline, the Bombers were left rueing the fact that they could not bridge the gap when the ball was in their half.

Maddy Collier accrued plenty of the ball across half-back, while Lauren Morecroft was nothing short of fearsome with her attack on the contests in defence. In her 50^th match, Kendra Heil was typically tireless with her tackling at the stoppages alongside Hayley Bullas.

No fewer than three debutants pulled on the red and black for the first time in Calder Cannons recruits Molly Warburton and Carla Rendelmann and GWS defender Tanya Hetherington.

Warburton and Hetherington fitted smoothly into the backline – Bomber fans can expect the youngster’s readiness to hit contests and the veteran’s marshalling to be features for the remainder of the season.

Despite the absence of key forward Danielle Ponter and defender Jenna Barker, the margin was considerably narrowed from the 39-point deficit in the sides’ round one clash.

Essendon will travel to Casey in round eight to play the Demons on Saturday.

ESSENDON         1.0       1.0       1.1       2.2 (14)
HAWTHORN        2.1       3.2       3.9       5.11 (41)

BEST
Collier, Morecroft, Morcom, Warburton, Trend, Hetherington.

GOALS
Essendon – Moreau, Trend.
Hawthorn – Woods, Cann, Mackie, Luke, Flanagan.