Whether Essendon can play better than its scintillating Saturday night stunner remains to be seen, but coach John Worsfold wants to see that sort of effort more consistently.
The Bombers buried much-hyped Port Adelaide in a high-octane 20-minute assault to start the game before running out impressive 70-point winners and climbing six spots to sixth on the ladder.
Worsfold told reporters post-game he would not be satisfied unless that performance – even if it didn't always come with such a lopsided margin – became the norm.
"One thing coaches always think, to play better than that is to play the same intensity and same level consistently week after week," he said.
"So that's definitely our challenge. That's not just now a benchmark that we can show every now and then – that's the way we want to play.
"You're not going to have those margins all the time, but hopefully playing that way means we can win more games than we lose and against all the best teams in the competition."
Essendon is still a work-in-progress, but the potential on every line was on display in the Power rout.
Cale Hooker booted a career-high five goals, with Joe Daniher and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti managing four apiece. Small forwards Orazio Fantasia and Josh Green didn't kick a goal, but still earned praise from Worsfold.
Four players – Zach Merrett, Dyson Heppell, Brendon Goddard and Jobe Watson – won 30 or more possessions and helped the Bombers win the inside-50 count (67-51) for just the second time this year.
"The forward line's been pretty efficient all year; we just haven't given them enough of a look at the ball getting in there," Worsfold said.
"So tonight, having a pretty comprehensive win on the inside-50 count, we were always pretty confident that's the sort of scoreline we'll be able to get when we get it in there that often."
Michael Hurley is the linchpin of Essendon's defence and was outstanding again, but there is a number of lesser-known teammates helping make it a club strength.
Michael Hartley kept in-form Port Adelaide focal point Charlie Dixon goalless, while hard-running Irishman Conor McKenna continues to develop at a rapid rate.
No.1 draft pick Andrew McGrath, James Kelly and Martin Gleeson were part of the defence on Saturday night, but Worsfold said it could evolve with Mitch Brown and Patrick Ambrose to return.
"There's been some good challenges for us this year," Worsfold said.
"I'm rapt the way everyone's attacked those challenges, in terms of our preparation and not getting too concerned about some of the areas of our game that we knew we had to keep working on.
"It was always going to take a bit of time, but … we've certainly seen over the last five weeks, I'd say, pretty good form building up to tonight, which was our best form."
