Essendon coach Brad Scott insists the Bombers will not lose any belief from a 77-point smashing at the hands of rampant reigning premiers Geelong.
After the Bombers put in their best performance of the season last week against Adelaide, they had no answers for the Cats in a ruthless mood at GMHBA Stadium.
Essendon (9-8) will finish the round eighth on the ladder ahead of a crucial clash with fellow finals contenders the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
Scott said the Bombers will review the painful loss to Geelong but will not stew on the result.
"I don't think we'll lose any belief in what we're trying to build," Scott said.
"We just couldn't execute and we came up against a team that was red hot early and really solid throughout the game.
"It wasn't just a matter of we weren't quite up to it.
"They were exceptional and we were a bit off.
"When you play an exceptional team and they're on and you're a bit off, you get a result like that."
Essendon defender Jayden Laverde (ankle) was substituted out of the match in the third quarter after an awkward collision with teammate Zach Merrett and Geelong forward Gary Rohan but the Bombers are confident his injury is only minor.
"He rolled his ankle, but he was fine to continue playing on, but just with the state of the game it didn't make sense to me to keep pushing him out there," Scott said.
Essendon defender Jordan Ridley took part in the match at Kardinia Park, just six days after appearing to badly injure his knee.
"It would have been much harder for our defence without him," Scott said.
"He's just a very good player.
"Under siege for most of the night and he performed really well.
"Even two days ago, I was planning for him not to play, but there was just no reason to rule him out."
