Essendon's first half against the Sydney Swans on Saturday was the best it has played this season, coach John Worsfold says.  

The collection of mature-age top-ups and promising youngsters matched their opponents for most of the first two quarters at the SCG and were up by six points eight minutes into the second term when David Zaharakis kicked a goal. 

While the Swans kicked the last three goals before half-time to grab a 17-point advantage, it looked like a contest was brewing.

However, the home side lifted their intensity in the second half and pulled away to an 81-point win. It was Essendon's heaviest loss so far in 2016. 

Worsfold said having two consecutive six-day breaks entering the clash took its toll on his squad and also influenced his decision at the selection table.

"That (the six-day breaks) was always going to be a challenge," Worsfold said after the match.

"That's why we chose to rest a couple of young players but some of our top-up players, our older new players, they are obviously feeling the pinch from that as well. 

"Our management of our group throughout the course of the year is a challenge and in that second half it was very tough."

The Bombers' task was not helped with the loss of Jonathan Simpkin because of a hamstring injury.

The 22 that lined up against the Swans featured four players aged 30 or above, while at the other end of the age scale 18-year-old Mason Redman made his AFL debut. There were also two 20-year-olds in Orazio Fantasia and Zach Merrett. 

Most of Worsfold’s squad had a limited preparation for the season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal of the AFL anti-doping tribunal's verdict in January, resulting in 34 past and present Bombers being banned for the 2016 season.

Despite these challenges, the Bombers coach said the players were coming together well as a team. 

"A lot of the time we are playing the way we want them to play and we are not seeing the benefits of that because of some skill errors, which is really about where our group is at," Worsfold said. 

"We make more errors than other teams in the competition and we don't compete and match other clubs on contested ball because of the make-up of our group at the moment."

He also had words of encouragement for Michael Hartley, who kept Lance Franklin to three goals to three-quarter time before the Swans spearhead booted three in the final term.

"I thought our intensity and the way we played the game in the first half was as good as we've played all year," Worsfold said.

"So that was really promising and the guys were upbeat at half-time and ready for the contest but Sydney to their credit took away any opportunity we had to continue to play that way. 

"Michael Hartley, playing up here on Buddy Franklin, that is just massive experience for him. He is disappointed that Buddy kicked six I think but considering the way the game was played I thought he did a good job."

Essendon has seven days to prepare for next week's encounter with the ladder-leading North Melbourne.