ESSENDON is on the winners list for the first time this season, putting a week of heavy scrutiny behind it with a come-from-behind win against Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.

The Bombers trailed at every break, but a four-goal final term in which young forward Nate Caddy and cult hero Sam Draper hit the scoreboard, gave the home side a 12-point win, 9.18 (72) to 8.12 (60), in front of a crowd of 25,114.

BOMBERS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

The visitors had their chances leading for most of the match, but couldn't manage to break away from the Bombers who hung in despite their inefficiency in front of goal on a night where they scored 18 behinds.

Bombers fans would have been buoyed in the first five minutes of the game with their side coming out with an intensity not seen in their humiliating 10-goal loss to Adelaide last week.

Despite being well in the contest, they couldn't hit the scoreboard, and when the ball went down the Power's end it was a different story with spearhead Mitch Georgiades running hot with two goals and having six score involvements in the opening term.

From there the game turned into an arm wrestle, with only two goals scored in the second term in a quarter plagued by errors from both sides. 

The teams kicked just one goal each for the term, the first coming through energetic forward Darcy Byrne-Jones at the two-minute mark, and the second through Bomber Jade Gresham in the final minute before half-time. 

For the 23 minutes in between those goals, the ball shifted from end-to-end like a tennis match, much to the frustration of the crowd.

Port's Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines came out after the main break and lifted, collecting 10 possessions and kicking a goal to steady his side in the third term.

But his side couldn't break free from the Bombers who clung on, with goals through youngsters Archie Roberts and Jye Menzie.

Debutants Tom Cochrane and Saad El-Hawli, who both started as subs for their respective sides, came onto the ground to start the final term in an attempt to add a spark with the game still in the balance.

And straight away El-Hawli was involved, with a bursting run from half-back leading to Essendon's first goal for the term through Nic Martin.

From there it never looked like Essendon was going to lose with Mason Redman, Caddy and Draper all scoring to give the Bombers their first win for 2025.

Bombers veteran returns to the middle
With Elijah Tsastas missing the match with a broken hand, Essendon coach Brad Scott threw his veteran Dylan Shiel back into the middle. Shiel, who has been playing in defence for the first two rounds, looked right at home in arguably his best game for the season. The 32-year-old finished the night with 25 disposals and five clearances and was one of the Bombers' best.

By Georgiades, he's good
In the first quarter it looked as though Mitch Georgiades was going to tear the game apart with six disposals, three marks, two goals and a goal assist. Adding to his bag of tricks, the 23-year-old took a massive hanger on the wing in a Virgin Australia Mark of the Year contender. To the Bombers' credit, their defensive unit was able to quell the influence of the Power star, who didn't contribute any further score to Port Adelaide's tally after quarter-time.

ESSENDON       2.5   3.9    5.14    9.18 (72)
PORT ADELAIDE       3.5   4.6   7.8   8.12 (60)  

GOALS
Essendon: Caddy 2, Draper 2, Gresham, Menzie, Roberts, Martin, Redman
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 2, Byrne-Jones 2, Boak, Richards, Wines, Horne-Francis

BEST
Essendon: Merrett, Shiel, Durham, Draper, Martin
Port Adelaide: Georgiades, Wines, Burgoyne, Byrne-Jones, Horne-Francis

INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Port Adelaide: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Saad El-Hawli (replaced Tom Edwards in the fourth quarter)
Port Adelaide: Tom Cochrane (replaced Ivan Soldo in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: 25,114 at Marvel Stadium