A five-goal to one second half has seen Essendon overrun a spirited Darebin at La Trobe University Oval on Sunday.

Spearheaded by a three-goal outing from co-captain Mia-Rae Clifford, the 6.6 (42) to 1.2 (8) result sees the Dons return to the top four with just four games remaining in the regular season.

Maddi Wilson’s opener in the first six minutes was all that separated the sides for much of the first three quarters, with the rainy conditions proving troublesome for scoring.

Clifford and Reese Sutton bobbed up with critical goals late in the third term to lend some breathing room for the Dons, who never looked back from there.

Maddison Ford registered a quick reply to a Falcons goal (her first in Essendon colours), before Clifford put the result beyond doubt with back-to-back majors.

Sutton was stellar in the middle, racking up 22 disposals to go with seven clearances, while Grace Dicker continued her strong form with 14 tackles.

Essendon have now won six of their last seven heading into a crunch clash against North Melbourne at the NEC Hangar next Sunday, kicking off at 11am AEST.

DAREBIN            0.0     0.0     0.0     1.2   (8)
ESSENDON        1.3     1.3     3.5     6.6   (42) 

GOALS (ESSENDON):

Clifford 3, Wilson, Sutton, Ford

BEST (ESSENDON):

Sutton, Molan, Clifford, Davidge, Dicker

Images: Gallivant Photo.