Missed opportunities came back to haunt the Bombers, according to defender Cale Hooker in Essendon’s one-point loss to Melbourne Sunday night.

Hooker, who played his 100^th game against the Demons said his side had plenty of chances forward of centre, yet failed to convert on the scoreboard.

Essendon had a considerable amount of ball inside forward 50, with 69 inside-50s, yet only managed 27 scoring shots.

And despite have 33 more inside 50's then their opponents, the Bombers had just one more mark inside 50.

“We didn’t put any scoreboard pressure on when we had the chances and we didn’t make the most of our opportunities,” Hooker said.

“The boys created enough opportunities, we just couldn’t make the most of it.”

“We didn’t play the way we wanted to play, it’s pretty disappointing- but we’ll keep fighting.”

The 25-year-old quickly turned his attention to Saturday night as Essendon faces Adelaide in a genuine ‘eight-point-game’.

It shapes as a defining moment in the season for both teams in the round-14 contest, as they sit together, each a game outside of the top eight.

“There’s still a long way to go in the season and we’re feeling pretty confident and we’ll keep fighting for the rest of the year.”

“It’s a big game against Adelaide, we’ll need to be on our game, and we’ll definitely be getting up for that one.”