Essendon ruckman Paddy Ryder said a variation in getting the ball on the outside of the contest to generate run and carry was the spark that led the Bombers to a come-from-behind victory over the Western Bulldogs.

The Bombers were down by as much as 14 points early in the last term, before flicking the switch to grind out a seven-point win and maintain their position in the top eight.

“Around the stoppages it was a little bit too tight, so the boys got to me and told me I need to hit it to the outside a bit and get a bit more run into the game,” Ryder said.

“It was playing into the Bulldogs’ hands throughout the middle of the game and we just had to hit the ball out, free the ball up, and get our boys running.”

Ryder admitted the team took on an all-or-nothing attitude, igniting a fourth-quarter comeback.

“We were just too safe playing for the first three quarters and in the last quarter we went out there and the talk around the boys was lets just win the game, lets get it to the outside, lets be bold with our ball movement and just take the game on, and that’s what the boys did,” he said.

“I thought our movement wasn’t too good all night, but when it counted in the last quarter the boys were able to come through with the goods.”

Ryder’s battle with in-form Bulldogs’ ruckman Will Minson was a crucial one in the context of the result with the Bomber big-man arguably getting the job done.

The 26-year-old admitted he stripped his game right back and just stuck to what he does best in limiting Minson’s influence on the contest.

“He’s a man-mountain, big Will,” Ryder said.

“It would have been bad for me to get into a wrestle with him in the ruck, so I kept sticking to my strengths which was my leap and my tap work.”

“I just kept moving and jumping into him and kept him looking for me, which I think I did mostly tonight.”

Ryder has been a played a lone hand in the ruck for the Bombers for the majority of this season, yet thinks the added responsibility has increased his output.

“I guess you get your momentum going and tonight I got to stay on the ball a lot longer and really influence the game” he said.

“I’ve been getting uncontested marks around the ground, which gets back to me moving off the other ruckman, and I’ve also been following up after the ball with tacking and putting pressure on and playing as another midfielder.”

“As a ruckman, I guess you aren’t covering the kilometres the midfielders do pushing hard, if you’re smart enough there’s holes around the ground and you can easily get possessions and influence the game that way.”

“But that’s where the game is at, ruckman have to play as another midfielder, and if I can do that better than the opposition ruckman, it goes a long way to winning the game.”

Key-forward Jake Carlisle also played a major role in the win, booting eight goals in a man-of-the-match performance.

The Bomber ruckman said Carlisle stability as a forward and his strong-willed attitude have played their part in recent form.

“He is one of those players you can put anywhere and if he puts his mind to the task, he can do anything he wants to do on the footy field,” Ryder said.

“And big ‘Buckets’ was just clunking them for us today.”

“It was good for his confidence leaving him in the same spot. The coaches left him up there and they could have thrown him into the ruck, but they kept him in the forward line because he was in good form up there and carried it though for the rest of the game.”

One of Ryder’s best friends at the club notched up a milestone during the win over the Bulldogs, with Courtenay Dempsey reaching game number 100.

He paid praised his good mate’s hard work through adversity to get to the milestone, particularly this season.

“He’s one of my closest mates at the footy club and I really try and help him out when I can,” Ryder said.

“He went though a period this year when he got dropped and he wasn’t allowed to train with us and I know it hit him pretty hard and he just wanted to get back with the boys amongst the group and show that he cared about the side.”

“Credit to him, he’s come back and he’s done everything that we’ve asked of him and gone beyond that and his footy on the field is paying dividends since coming back from getting the suspension.”

Ryder even looked ahead and forecasted another Dempsey donning the sash one day.

“It’s great that he’s got the 100 up, and he’s got a son, so maybe a father-son there.”