Essendon today fell 18 points shy of the undefeated Port Melbourne in front of a passionate red and black crowd at Windy Hill.

The Bombers struggled to get their hands on the ball early and took close to 15 minutes to register their first inside 50, meanwhile Port Melbourne had banged on three goals.

As the game wore on, the Bombers gradually worked their way into the contest and eventually taking the lead midway through the third quarter with a goal through Shaun Edwards, who was thrown forward in the second half.

However, Port Melbourne flexed their muscle and despite some very poor kicking in the final quarter, ran away with an 11 point win.

Assistant coach Paul Corrigan said that there were some positives to take away from the game.

“Obviously we made a poor start however as coaches, we were really pleased with how the boys fought back”

“We allowed them to get too much space early, but it was a really fierce contest after that”

Bomber captain Ben Duscher was the stand-out today, gathering plenty of possessions and leading from the front.

“Dusch was great today. He has been all year but today he really stood up and led from the front

“He asked a lot of the boys at quarter time and the team responded well, so not only is it a credit to him, but the team as well”

Corrigan added that he is happy with the progression of running defender Shaun Edwards.

“Shaun has gradually been building his game since the start of the year and showing more consistency

“We threw him forward in the second half as we suffered a few injuries and he had a real impact by kicking a goal and putting on a lot of forward pressure”

Senior player Kyle Hardingham was also one of the best players on the ground today, playing at both ends of the field.

“You almost wish you had two players like him” Corrigan said.

“It just shows the type of player that he is. He is very versatile, adds a lot of flexibility and is able to adapt really quickly to the position that he is in”

Ruckman Fraser Thurlow came off the ground in the hands of the trainers in the second quarter and did not return.

The Bombers will take on the Northern Blues next Saturday at 1pm, which will be the clubs final home game of the season at Windy Hill before moving out to Highgate Recreation Reserve as Windy Hill goes under redevelopment.

Essendon: 10.7.(67)

Port Melbourne: 10.25.(85)

Goals: Mellington, Hardingham 2, Jetta, Dell’Olio, Kefford, Edwards, Ashby, O’Brien

Best: O’Brien, Duscher, Hardingham, Colyer, Jetta, Edwards, Gregory.