Bring the heat, get the reward.

That’s been the message from Essendon Senior Coach Natalie Wood, whose side recorded its third win from four AFLW games on Sunday afternoon.

A quick three-goal blitz in the third term was critical in securing the win, stemming from defensive pressure which saw the Bombers eventually outscore the Dockers 40-9 from turnovers.

Upping the ante without the ball has been a focal point for Wood, who wants defensive pressure to become a hallmark of the Bombers’ game.

“Last year, our pressure rating was pretty poor,” Wood said.

“We’ve put a power of work into being better defensively, so we’ve put better structure that allows that chase from behind but also putting a value on being able to stick (tackles).

“It was terrific to see a level of urgency from the players to achieve that today.”

An early arm wrestle saw the Bombers trailing by four points at half-time, locked against a Fremantle side which brought a contested ball-heavy approach early.

Wood wasn’t surprised by the Dockers’ competitiveness and set a challenge for the group to respond after the change.

Beginning from the back with the strong contest work of Georgia Clarke and a returning Alex Morcom, the Bombers were able to steady after the main break and set themselves up to break the contest open.

“Regardless of where we are on the ladder, we saw (this game) as a really good challenge for us. Going into the game, Fremantle do like it really contested and put a lot of numbers around the ball,” Wood said.

“The messaging at half-time (was) to set up a system to negate that a little bit, but give us some run on the outside.

“Having the wind helped, but our ability to lock the ball in the front half with that was excellent. We needed more from our inside mids, swapped a bit of personnel around and the playing group really responded.”

“The resilience for the group to take it up to another level after half-time was excellent.”

Headed by another stellar performance from forward Bonnie Toogood (21 disposals, nine tackles, two goals), the Bombers are also showing their firepower on the offensive end.

For Wood, the career-best form of their centre-half-forward is a testament to the club’s focus on individual growth and development.

“We wanted to make sure we sold a really strong message to the players that moved from other teams to come in and set up a really elite program (that allows) every player to grow,” Wood said.

“You look at players like Bonnie (Toogood) and the growth she’s shown this year, she’s taking her game to another level.

“(She leads the way) with her ability to get up the ground, give us strong structure ahead of the football and compete really hard.

“They’re the things that we’re looking at in terms of what we can control. It’s kept us in games and we’ve been able to finish off three of them really well which is excellent.”

An important clash with the Pies awaits for the Bombers, who have an opportunity to set a strong base for the second half of their season.

Wood is keeping things grounded for the side, taking a ‘quarter-by-quarter’ approach with a young group thriving off another strong crowd showing at Windy Hill from the weekend.

“It’s round four. What we’re looking at is wanting to continually improve and that’s been a focus for us all year, the outcome will take care of itself,” Wood said.

“The Reynolds Stand was fantastic (today). Being a bit more established in our second year, the players are set up to enjoy it.

“Follow the red and black, and we’ll take you on the journey with us.”