Essendon believes it can recover from the body blow of back-to-back defeats and return to the top four after straying from its key focuses in Sunday's heavy loss to Collingwood.

The Bombers were given a lesson in pressure football by the fanatical Magpies at the MCG, losing the tackle count (53-81) and contested possessions (145-155) in an uncharacteristic performance.

Defender Kyle Hardingham said the 79-point loss was not a blow to the Bombers' ambitions this season, but they needed to learn from the past fortnight.

"As a group that's very uncharacteristic of the year we've had so far," Hardingham told AFL.com.au. 

"One thing we've drilled into is contested ball and we've gone away from it. They beat us all day in that area.

"We just need to go back to training and really go back to the basics, win our contested ball and flow on from there.

"I wouldn't say it's a blow, but I definitely think we can learn from it."

Essendon's slump started in round 18, with Hawthorn also controlling the contested ball and clearances in its 56-point win.

The Bombers have been shown up by the top three sides this season, losing to Geelong (round seven), the Sydney Swans (round 10) and the Hawks last week.

"When you come up against good sides, if you're not first to the ball and your tackling's down then it goes straight into the forward line with no pressure," Hardingham said.  

"Last week and this week, they were big games and we can learn from them and when it does come to finals and we face them again we know exactly what we have to do."

Playing just his fourth game for the season, Hardingham started in defence but was deployed to a struggling forward line in the second half.

He said the players' spirit and unity had not been fractured by the club's ongoing supplements saga.  

"I think it's definitely bringing us closer and closer," he said.  

"If you asked any of the players, we're all closer and we all know each other a lot better now.

"We really feel like we're building something special."