Essendon remains in contention for an unlikely finals berth after edging past bottom side Melbourne by 16 points at the MCG on Saturday.
A spirited Demons outfit threw everything they had at the in-form Bombers - even taking the lead midway through the third quarter - before Matthew Lloyd sealed victory with his eighth goal of the day that keeps his team in touch with the top eight.
Lloyd was outstanding all day, notching his best haul since Round 1, 2006 and also putting in a contender for Mark of the Year to lead the Bombers to a 19.10 (124) to 17.6 (108) win.
The Bombers have now won six of their past seven matches to remain in finals calculations just one game outside the top eight.
The skipper's third goal pushed him past Collingwood great Peter McKenna into eighth spot on the all-time goal-kicking list.
No-one could fault the Demons' intensity but skill errors proved costly in the final wash-up.
Despite the loss, there were promising signs for the future with youngsters Cale Morton (26 possessions), Simon Buckley (19) and Shane Valenti (19) all stepping up on the big stage.
Essendon led by 15 points at the main break but was immediately challenged early in the third quarter with goals to Colin Sylvia and Paul Johnson. And when Sylvia converted his third of the day at the 15-minute mark, the Demons were in front by two points.
But the Bombers responded brilliantly, with goals to Angus Monfries, Kyle Reimers and Lloyd after leaping over a pack of five players to take mark of the day.
Melbourne battled hard in the last quarter - Morton snaffling two consecutive goals to reduce the margin to nine points - but ran out of puff as Essendon sealed its eighth win of the year.
The Bombers have had a habit of fast starts in recent weeks and it looked like continuing when Lloyd booted the opening two goals of the match after just four minutes.
In fact, Essendon had most of the play in the first term but was unable to make the most of it as a tenacious Melbourne stuck manfully to its task.
Addam Maric responded with the first goal of his career to get the Demons away, before Adam McPhee was awarded a free kick 50m from the play to give the Bombers a two-goal break.
Clint Bartram then goaled on the run to reduce the margin to five points at quarter-time.
Melbourne led by a goal at the nine-minute mark of the second quarter when Buckley kicked a running goal, but the Bombers booted five of the next six goals - including two each to Andrew Lovett and Monfries - to get out by 21 points.
A late goal from speedy Demon Aaron Davey reduced the margin back to 15 points at half-time.
ESSENDON: 3.1, 9.6, 14.8, 19.10 (124)
MELBOURNE: 2.2, 7.3, 11.5, 17.6 (108)
GOALS: Essendon: Lloyd 8, Monfries 3, Lovett 2, McPhee 2, Atkinson, Reimers, Slattery, Jetta
Melbourne: Sylvia 3, Morton 3, Bate 2, Maric 2, Bartram, Buckley, Davey, P Johnson, Wonaeamirri, Green, Jamar
BEST: Essendon: Lloyd, Lovett-Murray, McPhee, Lovett, Peverill, Monfries, Fletcher
Melbourne: Morton, Bruce, Sylvia, McDonald, Buckley, Bate
INJURIES: Essendon: Reimers (hamstring)
Melbourne: Davey (heel), Garland (hamstring)
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Kennedy, Sully, Fila
CROWD: 46,334 at the MCG
Sportal AFL Player of the Year votes
3. Matthew Lloyd (Essendon)
2. Nathan Lovett-Murray (Essendon)
1. Cale Morton (Melbourne)