Essendon’s strength in attack was one of the positives to emerge from the narrow loss to Gold Coast on Saturday.

The Bombers ended the match with 14 goals, the side’s third best return of the season. 

“We certainly shared the ball much better than what we have,” Forwards Coach Nathan Bassett said.

“We did go forward and give the forwards some good one on one opportunities.”

Shaun McKernan, Dyson Heppell and Cale Hooker ended the game with three goals each. 

“I thought Hooker was very good in attack, as far as giving us consistent contests,” Bassett said. 

Courtenay Dempsey was also prominent in his new role. 

The defender turned forward generated five scoring shots and had two goals assists.

“I thought Dempsey was very good resetting the forward line, like getting back in there, winning ground balls, taking marks on the lead,” Bassett said.

“He showed he might be able to play and make a career out of being a forward for us, which is a good thing.” 

At the 24-minute mark of the last quarter the Bombers trailed by 15 points.

Bassett was pleased with the way the side responded with goals to Hooker and Orazio Fantasia giving the team a chance at victory. 

“I even think the way we were able to execute the last couple of minutes and give ourselves a chance to win was a real positive,” he said.