Brad Scott has warned his Essendon players to expect a "slog" every week after they survived a huge scare to strengthen their grip on an AFL top-eight spot with a six-point win over North Melbourne.
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A game of swinging momentum eventually fell the Bombers' way when substitute Massimo D'Ambrosio snapped the match-winning goal with two minutes left in a 16.9 (105) to 15.9 (99) victory at Marvel Stadium.
The second-from-bottom Kangaroos trailed by 20 points at quarter-time and lost important midfielders Jy Simpkin and Hugh Greenwood to concussion before the main break.
But they fought back with six consecutive goals and led by 17 points during the third term.
The Bombers kicked six of the next seven majors to turn for home with a lead and got their noses back in front in a nerve-wracking final quarter, boosting their finals hopes in the process.
The lead changed hands four times in the last term and scores were level after Kangaroos forward Jaidyn Stephenson's brilliant snap with three minutes left before D'Ambrosio stepped up with the game on the line.
The substitute pounced after Jake Stringer's superb smother and tackle kept the ball in Essendon's forward line.
"I said to the players it's going to be a real contest and we got exactly what we expected, even though early on we had the game completely on our terms," Bombers coach Scott said.
"To North Melbourne's credit, they fought back and were pretty fierce around the contest and beat us for a large part of the game in that area."
Scott was at pains to highlight his side's inexperience against similarly youthful opponent, noting he fielded 17 players with fewer than 100 games under their belts.
"I'm really excited about the upside for us but right at the moment - and I suspect this is a reflection of the competition - every game is going to be a slog," Scott said.
Kyle Langford booted four goals for Essendon and Zach Merrett finished with a game-high 34 disposals and two majors, while Jye Caldwell (27 touches), Jordan Ridley (21) and Nic Martin (21, two goals) were important.
Stringer (17 touches, five tackles, one goal) was another strong contributor, impressing Scott with his commitment to the defensive side of the game.
Cameron Zurhaar kicked four goals for North and Ben McKay responded to criticism over a poor performance last week with some important moments in defence.
Liam Shiels went to Merrett after quarter-time and limited the Bombers skipper's damage after he had 17 disposals, five clearances and two goals in the first quarter alone.
An undermanned midfield led by Will Phillips (28 disposals) threatened to lift the Kangaroos to a huge upset, with Harry Sheezel (21), Bailey Scott (19) and Aaron Hall (27) important.
But their collective effort wasn't enough to prevent a 10th consecutive defeat.
"There was a lot to like around the kids again being a barometer and giving us a look at what the future looks like," Kangaroos caretaker coach Brett Ratten said.
"That was encouraging but we don't want to keep putting ourselves in close games and not getting over the line.
"We made some blues towards the end of the game, which will be great education and we didn't quite get that right, but there were some pleasing things to come out of it again."
Australian Associated Press
