Response made.

Kyle Langford was a vital contributor for Essendon’s return to form against the Bulldogs on Friday night, booting three goals in a firing Dons attack.

Bouncing back from a tough loss on the road to the Power, the Bombers drew a clear focus on upping the ante with their pressure, particularly forward of centre where they were able to lock the footy in dangerous positions.

Bolstered by some accurate kicking (a total of 15.6), Langford was impressed by the forwards’ well-rounded efforts throughout the game.

“It’s a great win, the Bulldogs are a great opposition,” Langford said.

“We had some really good chats (last week) and trained pretty hard on things we needed to improve on, it was great to see that come out in our game tonight.

“I think our forward pressure (was the most important improvement we executed). It started with Jye Menzie, Ben Hobbs, it was great to have Alwyn (Davey) back, that’s exactly why he’s in the team for that pressure.

“We’ve been working pretty hard on our goalkicking accuracy, it’s just great that we have multiple goal scorers and some midfielders kicking goals, (multiple threats are) exactly what we want.”

Among the goalkicking spoils was Harry Jones (six marks, two goals), who has enjoyed a rejuvenated run of form since returning to the line-up as a late inclusion back in round three.

Getting reward for his relentless running efforts as a high forward, Langford has been thrilled to see his close friend thriving following a tumultuous run with injury over the past two seasons.

“Seeing (big Harry) do some chase down tackles, pressure’s where we want to build our game and I thought we brought that tonight.

“(Harry’s) like a little brother (to me). You can really drop your bundle once you get dropped, and he really fought back and is playing some consistent footy, he’s really finding his niche in our team now and he’s so valuable.

“It’s great to see Harry get reward for effort.”

With Friday’s win, the Bombers improved to a 3-2 record this season and secured a first victory over the Dogs since 2021.

Athough the Dons entered the contest having lost nine of their previous 10 games against the Bulldogs, Langford and the side hadn’t made a big deal of the record, but won’t understate the importance of a win in front of a big crowd.

“I wasn’t even aware (of the win-loss record), but I know we’ve definitely had a few big games on the losing side I’ve been involved in. It’s just a really good win for this club,” Langford said.

“I’m just loving my time at the moment in the forward mix.”