Essendon's VFLW season has come to an end, suffering a 63-point defeat to North Melbourne in Saturday's elimination final at Arden Street.

Running into one of the form sides in the competition, the Dons got off to a quick start with a team-lifting goal from retiring forward Sarah Perkins to open the game, but were forced to withstand plenty of forward pressure from the home side for the remainder of the term.

Despite Essendon remaining an outside chance going into half-time through the efforts of Bailey Hunt (24 disposals), the Kangaroos burst out of the blocks in the third term to establish an unassailable lead.

Perkins again struck from long-range for a consolation major, but North remained on top throughout the back end of the contest and put a premature end to the Bombers' finals campaign.

After an off-season stacked with personnel changes and a new-look roster, the VFLW squad's first season under Cherie O'Neill held plenty of promising signs and a solid base for improvement heading into the next pre-season.

NORTH MELBOURNE     3.1     5.2     10.2    12.4   (76)
ESSENDON      1.0     1.0     2.1     2.1  (13)

GOALS
Perkins 2

BEST
Hunt, Chaston, Mahony, Morrow, Perkins