Essendon were outdone by Port Melbourne in Sunday’s VFLW preliminary final, going down by 30 points at ETU Stadium.

Despite the Bombers starting on the front foot with a solid first quarter, a sudden shift in momentum on either side of the half-time break saw Port Melbourne break away to a big lead on home turf.

The Dons fought hard until the end, but ultimately ran out of legs in what had been a taxing finals series for the young side.

Bella Clarke and Reese Sutton were solid contributors on both sides of the ball for the Dons on a difficult afternoon.

Sophie Molan was stoic all day, finishing with 24 disposals and seven clearances, while Grace Dicker concluded her strong season with a 15-tackle effort.

In a year defined by new faces and fresh starts, the Dons proved themselves as one of the most exciting teams in the VFLW competition in a campaign to be proud of.

Sunday also marked the final game in Kendra Heil’s VFLW career, after an outstanding tenure with the Bombers headlined by premiership success in 2022.

ESSENDON                   0.3    0.4   0.5   1.5  (11)
PORT MELBOURNE       0.0    3.2   5.4   6.5  (41)

Goals: Wilson

Best: Clarke, Molan, Dicker, Sutton