Andrew McGrath says he’s gradually becoming more comfortable at AFL level and hopes to find some more consistency in the coming weeks.

The number one draft pick was one of the Bombers best in the loss to Adelaide.

In his fourth senior game he picked up 28 possessions and distributed the ball at an efficiency rate of 85 per cent.

“I’m definitely feeling more comfortable – the more I get to know the boys, the more I get to know the pace of the game – it just all helps,” McGrath said.

“Hopefully I can become more consistent and play my footy like that from now on.”

McGrath has played across half back in each of the four matches so far this season.

He played on Hawthorn’s Luke Breust in round one and against the Crows he lined up on Eddie Betts for part of the second half.

“I think I spent 20 minutes on him in the third and to be honest I was pretty scared, he’s probably the best small forward in the competition at the moment,” McGrath said.

“I think I did ok on him, we halved some one-on-ones which I was happy with and it was a good experience.”

The Essendon defence was under siege throughout the first half of the clash with the Crows.

The Bombers lifted after the main break but Adelaide kicked the final three goals of the match to run out 65-point winners.

“We’ve got a lot to learn from in that game,” McGrath said.

“Our first half wasn’t up to scratch – our effort, our ball use, our basic skills just weren’t there.

“We turned that around to an extent in the second half, but we can’t have a [first] half like that and we’ll learn some big lessons from that.”

The Bombers now have a ten-day break before playing Collingwood on ANZAC Day. 

“It’s obviously exciting – we haven’t thought about it too much, we’re obviously just dwelling on the loss at the moment, but we’ll move on pretty quickly and prepare for hopefully a big day on ANZAC Day,” McGrath said.