IT WAS the piece of play that got Essendon humming on Saturday.

After Sam Durham sent a long kick out of defence, Nate Caddy had a two-on-one battle with Demon Jake Lever and a trailing Daniel Turner. 

Caddy, who had had a quiet first half and changed from the black boots to the white at half-time, wanted to make an impact in the third term. He knew he had Lever covered for pace, so gathered the ball, turned inside, and got it moving. The piece of play ended in a goal for Archer Day-Wicks, and Essendon kicked 10 of the next 12 goals to land their first win of the season. 

"I pride myself on my speed and I felt like I hadn't really done much up until that point so I thought I just needed to make my mark on the game," Caddy told AFL.com.au post-game. 

"Little moments like that can get you into the game and change how you're feeling about yourself. After that moment it felt like everything was flowing."

Caddy knows the hopes placed on him to steer Essendon out of its two-decade malaise. Rather than dwell on 21 years of no finals wins, Caddy sees it as the challenge to confront. He has only been at Essendon for two years and five games after being the club's prized No.10 pick at the super talented 2023 draft, but as an athletic, tough, combative, exciting key forward he is a crucial piece to their list build.

Rather than shy away from the expectations, the 20-year-old enjoys them. 

"It's such a big club, it's such an opportunity to become a good club. I really like where the club's going and the people we're bringing in," he said. 

"(New president) Andrew Welsh has come in and made a statement early and it was up to us to play on the field. I'm so excited for my career and how I can drag the club forward. 

"I've got a lot to improve on to be that type of player who is consistent every week – I've got a lot to prove and I think I can do that."

The Bombers' win over Melbourne broke a 17-game losing streak and saw them avoid the longest losing streak in the club's history. It was the 11th win of Caddy's 31-game career and he said emotions were high after breaking the losing run, which included a poor start to 2026.

"It's been building up for so long and to be honest it's been a bit upsetting losing so much. But to come out and win turns everything on its head and I'm so optimistic. That last quarter it felt like everything was going our way and we've been building towards that. We started off horribly, as we all know, and everyone spoke about it," he said. 

"We tried to stay together and make sure it didn't tear us apart. I wasn't playing last week but everyone gained some real belief from that second half and then we came out today and showed some really good signs. I still think there's so much growth in this team."

Caddy (31 games) became a leader of an inexperienced forward line alongside Isaac Kako (27), Archie May (11), Thomas Edwards (four) and Sullivan Robey (one), with Jade Gresham the only experienced Bomber in the group. 

Caddy kicked 2.3 from 12 disposals, taking his goal tally to eight from four games this season, after missing the defeat to the Western Bulldogs through concussion. He said the win over the Demons, which continued their run of form against Melbourne in Gather Round, had come after questions if the club would win a game in the first half of this year and just days after their training oval had been vandalised. 

"There's be a bit of a weight off everyone's shoulders to prove we actually can play a bit of footy. The media has been absolutely into us and Essendon's a big club and everything gets put under a microscope," he said. 

"We've won by 45 points and someone's destroyed our oval mid-week so we cop it a little bit but to have that happen to us and be able to respond is really good. I'm super proud of the boys."

Saturday was a return to Adelaide Oval for Caddy three weeks after the Bombers were trounced by Port Adelaide. That day, Caddy finished with a career-high four goals, but an early miss from the goalsquare took the spotlight after coach Brad Scott admitted post game it was a "demoralising" moment.

Caddy said he went into half-time furious with himself but was intent on making amends, with all of his goals against the Power coming in the second half. It was his response that made those at Essendon even surer Caddy was such a critical part of their long-term solution. 

"Me and (Scott) have such a good relationship," he said.

"I came in that day at half-time and headbutted the door and knew it was no good from me. I honestly faked excitement to come out after half-time and tried to turn things on its head. 

"I knew we were down by 50 points at half-time but I honestly believed in my head that if I played my best footy that I'd be able to turn the game. I came out and kicked two in the next few minutes and obviously it didn't come to fruition but I had that confidence that if I really put my mind to something I can change a game. 

"We obviously don't want to be in that position in the first place and I don't want to miss goals from in front. I made sure the next one I got I'd put it 10 stories behind and that's what happened in the first 30 seconds. 

"That changed my mindset. But you go on your phone after the game and you see it all and you're like 'Man, far out, I could've had five' but it is what it is and you've got to move on."