Essendon VFL secured a fifth win from their last six games with a 12-point victory over the SUNS at Windy Hill on Saturday.

The Bombers continued their late-season resurgence and looked the dominant team around the ground for most of the day, reflected with one-sided clearance and inside 50 counts.

With a group of AFL-listed Dons on song in recent weeks, Senior Coach Blake Caracella reviewed their output from Saturday's win.

Elijah Tsatas

27 disposals, seven clearances, four marks

‘Lij’ played really well again.

He used it quite nicely this week and showed his capability as a contested player. We’re still working away at the defensive side of his game but it was another really good showing from him.

Sam Weideman

12 disposals, eight marks

‘Weids’ was fantastic for us, especially in that third quarter when we needed someone to stand tall.

In key moments, he took a bunch of intercept marks and just kept repelling their attack, working really well with the rest of our defensive group. He’s in good touch.

Archie Perkins

28 disposals, seven clearances, six marks, three tackles

‘Arch’ won plenty of it and created chances for us all day.

He played on-ball for the majority of the day and looked really strong around the contest – he’s working on getting the patterns right in terms of getting forward and running back, and Saturday was a good step for him.

Todd Goldstein

22 hit-outs, 10 disposals, four marks

‘Goldy’ had a really even battle with Ned Moyle in the ruck.

Across the game he played quite well and provided a bit for the younger guys, particularly when we needed a cool head in the second half. He’s boosted our midfield group in the last couple of weeks.

Lewis Hayes

15 disposals, eight marks

‘Hayesy’ was good, he beat his man directly and won his share of footy.

The trio that’s developed back there alongside ‘Weids’ and Will Hoare has been really big for us over the last couple of months and it was good to see them all contribute again on the weekend.

Nick Hind

29 disposals, six marks

‘Hindy’ was really lively, both in the contest and on the outside.

As per, he’s just a really attacking player and brings plenty of energy to the group with his run-and-carry but also his leadership and personality, providing a voice on the ground all the time.

Peter Wright

Nine disposals, six marks, three goals

‘Pete’ contested really strongly and never got beaten in the air.

He took some pretty big marks both inside 50 and around the ground at times, managing to hit the scoreboard with a few goals and could’ve ended up with five or six.

A really solid outing for him against the old side.

Luamon Lual

Nine disposals, six marks

‘Luey’ played his second full game as a forward.

He’s getting his chances and just narrowly missing out on hitting the scoreboard, but you feel as though it’s going to click for him eventually.

Once he gets that one, hopefully the floodgates can open from that confidence.

Jayden Davey

12 disposals, three marks, three behinds

We were pretty happy with Jayden.

He only had the 12 touches but a lot of the patterns and reads that he’s been working on are starting to show – he shows a lot of intent to get his positioning right and it was one of his better games on the weekend, despite some missed chances at goal.

Vigo Visentini

10 disposals, seven marks, two behinds

‘Vigs’ created a lot of opportunities through his aerial power.

He was unlucky in front of goal, had a few shots that he didn’t convert which was a recurring theme for us, but he also rucked pretty well against the Suns’ pairing in there.

Another game with a bit to like from him.

Tex Wanganeen

21 disposals, five marks

Tex was fairly solid for us.

He runs really hard with the ball and creates whenever he gets a half-chance, so we try to feed him as much as we can.

Still learning the ropes a bit defensively, but he takes a step forward with every game he plays down there. He’s finishing the season strongly.

Saad El-Hawli

21 disposals, six marks, three tackles, one goal, three behinds

We expected ‘Saady’ to be a bit off the beat given he’d missed a lot of footy, but he looked pretty good.

He’s got that real knack to drive his legs and weave out of traffic, find space and pick out the best option going forward, which he showed in spades.

We missed him, it was a strong first game back.

VFL performers

Will Hoare (14 disposals, six marks) continues to be a dominant presence for us in defence. He’s rounded his game out really nicely and keeps improving week-to-week with starting our attack from the back half

Jack Peris had a really good pressure game and attacked the ball hard, while Oskar Smartt’s showing glimpses of his best again. He was really combative in the tackle all day and got his due reward with a big late goal as well.