A tight contest was not decided until deep inside the final minute when an Adam McPhee snapshot squeezed through for a behind to put Essendon in front with 20-seconds remaining.

Both sides were without a number of key players. The Bulldogs were minus Ryan Griffin, Adam Cooney, Robert Murphy and Jason Akermanis among others.

Essendon by the same token had plenty of talent in the grandstand – Scott Lucas, Alwyn Davey, Brent Stanton and emerging youngster Kyle Riemers all looked on along with Jason Winderlich and Brent Prismall.

Fletcher said the promise Essendon’s young talent showed tonight almost made the final result irrelevant.

“It was pretty close towards the end and it is obviously good for the confidence this early in the season to have a one-point win and to blood a few young players,” Fletcher said.

“I think when you see Gumby (Scott Gumbleton) out there taking a few marks and Quinny (Michael Quinn) came on at the end and showed a fair bit and guys like Courtenay Dempsey doing well, you really get excited.”

The future of the Essendon forward line looks bright if early impressions of Jay Neagle and Scott Gumbleton are anything to go by. The pair, who are guaranteed to improve with game-time, moved well and marked the football with confidence.

Besides a freakish snap from the boundary which resulted in a goal, Neagle was strong overhead and used his strength to advantage on more than one occasion.

For the injury-prone Gumbleton, the main aim was to simply get through four quarters. He did that and showed glimpses of the class we all know he has. It was an important night for him.

“I have played on Scott in a few practice games and he is pretty tough to play on so it was good to see him do well,” Fletcher said. “If he stays fit, I think he is a ready-made centre-half-forward.

“I also played on Jay Neagle in the club’s practice game last week and he is one that can make you look stupid. He is a good mark and if he can convert, he is going to be a good player for us. I was impressed with him today as well.”

The first half was not short of excitement and scores were level at 34 a piece at half-time.

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Leroy Jetta provided some spark in the forward line resulting in two goals while Jobe Watson looked at home in Essendon’s midfield, collecting 10 possessions in the first term.

A dislocated finger minutes into the second term momentarily halted Watson’s progress but it was not long before he had added another four touches to his tally to finish second on Essendon’s possessions list at the main break (14). Jay Nash finished the half with 16, followed closely by Andrew Lovett (12) finished and Courtenay Dempsey (9).

“Jobe Watson was good in the centre. He obviously had plenty of the ball and the way he prepares and goes about it is very good so he is going to have a very good year judging by tonight’s performance,” Fletcher said.

Courtenay Dempsey showed just how important he could be to the Bombers’ fortunes long term. He got better as the game went on and his speed and creativity is a real bonus across half back.

“It is good to play beside Courtenay because he adds that bit of flair. He has got the pace and ability that makes it hard for other players to catch him,” he said.

“We know he is a good player and Matthew Knights obviously rates him highly but to see him play the full four quarters that well is really promising.”

But it wasn’t only the youth that stood up to the occasion. Hayden Skipworth showed he can deliver on the faith Matthew Knights’ has shown in him, finishing the match with15 possessions.

“When you need a strong body into the ball in the last ten minutes of a game, Hayden provides that and plays that role really well. To have a ready-made 25-year-old player is a real coup for the club,” he said.

Essendon’s Irish recruit, Michael Quinn got some valuable game time and didn’t waste it.

“Quinny was good. He got excited at the end and he has obviously never played in front of 35,000, he may have played in front of 500 but he played well when he came on,” Fletcher said.