Melbourne have overcome injured captain Max Gawn's absence and given their AFL finals hopes a huge boost with a stirring 17-point upset of Essendon.
As Gawn watched on with a chipped fibula, the Demons relished the wet conditions and kicked 41 points clear during the final term before withstanding a late challenge in their 13.6 (84) to 10.7 (67) victory at the MCG on Saturday.
Trent Rivers (29 disposals, eight clearances) continued his strong midfield form and inexperienced forward Daniel Turner kicked three goals, while Kysaiah Pickett celebrated his 100-game milestone with two majors in front of 52,866 fans.
The result lifted Melbourne (10-7) up to sixth spot on the ladder ahead of Sunday's matches.
"I loved how we defended for a large part of the game and our contest game was strong all the way up until the last 10 minutes," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said.
"You combine that with the younger players continuing to evolve in and some of the leaders really stepping up, it was a good night for the footy club.
"I hope our supporters are proud of our group because they played the right way."
The Bombers (10-6-1) would have moved into outright second place with a win, but could now be as low as seventh by the end of the round.
Key forwards Jacob van Rooyen and Harry Petty shared Melbourne's ruck duties in Gawn's absence and were outpointed in the air by Essendon's Sam Draper.
But the Demons pair held their own around the ground and it was their side who got on top of the clearance and territory battles when it mattered.
"It's unpredictable for us but also for the opposition when you don't have a dominant ruckman like Max (Gawn)," Goodwin said.
"You plan a bit differently for the opposition and we always went in with a plan to share the load with Petty, van Rooyen and a little bit of Turner.
"That was just finding out what was going to work for us on the night and I thought they did a great job."
Jake Melksham again proved a crucial link player for Melbourne in his second game back from a long-term knee injury, finishing with 2.1 and six score involvements from 12 disposals.
Steven May was outstanding as the Demons' defensive marshal, and Bayley Fritsch kicked three goals.
Draper (20 disposals, seven clearances) was one of Essendon's best, Jordan Ridley (29 touches) was busy, and Nic Martin kicked four goals - three in the final term.
But the Bombers, who kicked three of the first four goals before ceding control, were no match for their stronger and hungrier opponents.
Martin kicked the first goal of the final quarter to get Essendon with 11 points, but Melbourne shut the gate by slamming on the next five majors in a decisive 11-minute burst.
Bombers coach Brad Scott lamented his side's defensive lapses, poor execution, contest work and inability to adapt to the conditions.
"It's really frustrating because Melbourne played well but we still generated 56 inside-50s and generated enough opportunity," Scott said.
"But we conceded pretty ordinary goals and really didn't get the game played like we wanted it to until the last 10 minutes when it was all too little, too late."
