Gumbleton showed his marking strength up forward, taking twelve marks (10 contested) to go along with his bag of five.
In a dominant performance the Bombers outclassed Bendigo all over the ground to win their third match in a row as they prepare for a late charge toward finals action.
Essendon coach Hayden Skipworth praised the performance of Gumbleton who continues to push his claims for a place in the AFL side.
“The first quarter he was on fire, he was just marking everything inside forward 50,” Skipworth said.
“His pressure was the best we have seen, he was laying tackles, chasing down and getting back to help the defence as well.”
“We encouraged him before the game to jump at the footy and go for his marks because that is obviously his strength so to see him actually hold them was really good.”
Nick O’Brien and Nathan Lovett-Murray were important cogs in the middle of the ground for the red and black as they lead at every change to record a comfortable victory.
O’Brien continued his strong form shown in the last two weeks at AFL level finishing he match with 30 possessions, once again playing an important defensive role in the midfield.
“Nick played that defensive midfield role, he has turned into a prolific ball winner and his ball use is getting better every week,” Skipworth said.
Alwyn Davey continued to press his claims for a senior recall with seven tackles and two goals three behinds for the match applying good forward line pressure for the entire game.
The win puts the Bombers into contention for the finals sitting in equal eighth position on the ladder.
“At the start of the season the goal was to make the finals but we have to win most of our games coming home as we put ourselves in a bad situation,” Skipworth said post match.
“We have full confidence that it doesn’t matter who we play that we can get a good result from the team.”
Essendon take on Sandringham at Trevor Barker Oval next Saturday afternoon from 1.10pm.
Essendon 21.19.145
Bendigo 5.6.36
Goals: Gumbleton 5, Shinners 3, Duscher 3, Lovett-Murray 2, Davey 2, Browne, Ambrose, Firman, Kavanagh, Ashby, Hams.
Best: Gumbleton, O’Brien, Kavanagh, Hille, Lovett-Murray, Duscher, Davey.
