Ben Howlett says there were a few extra nerves and some emotion as he made his comeback for the Bombers last night.

The win over Brisbane was Howlett’s first taste of victory in 573 days.

“I really enjoyed it out there, the boys really helped me and I was running out of gas towards the end there, but it was fantastic and I had a lot of fun,” he said.

“I was a bit emotional – obviously it was a long time coming – you think back to last year and what you were doing in those times … you were on your own running around an oval.

“It’s all worthwhile.”

Howlett picked up 15 possessions, took four marks and laid two tackles playing across half forward.

The Bombers led by as much as 42 points in the first half.

Momentum swung back to the home side just before the main break and the Lions continued to control the game in the third quarter.

After giving up the lead in the last quarter, Essendon kicked the last five goals of the game.

Orazio Fantasia kicked five goals, Joe Daniher booted three and Cale Hooker kicked two as the new forward mix continued to create problems for the opposition.

“We were lucky early with our ‘mids’ getting on top … we were getting a lot of opportunities down forward,” Howlett said.

“It was a slippery, wet, greasy night but I thought the forwards made the most of our opportunities.”

Howlett was pleased with the way the team responded in the second half, but said the goal is to be a strong side for the whole match.

“We want to be the same consistent team across four quarters, we’ve got our values that we want to stick to,” he said.

“I thought we answered the questions pretty well and came back.” 

The unbeaten Bombers face Carlton next Sunday.