Bombers answer critics, welcome back Essendon edge
Last week, Essendon were down after a 69-point smashing at the hands of the Power. Now, they're on top of the world after a crucial win over the Dogs.
Moderated by Tomas Kauer 
Welcome back Essendon edge.
It took a while to get into it, but the Bombers have completely shocked the Western Bulldogs, defeating them by 29 points at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
After coming under fire during the week for their lack of energy around the footy, after their 69-point drubbing at the hands of Port Adelaide during Gather Round, the Bombers look like a completely fresh side.
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Earlier in the week, Bombers legend Matthew Lloyd expressed concerns surrounding the club's "mental resilience", after dropping two of their opening four matches.
"The club just doesn't have the feeling of what it used to have. There's just something not quite right in this football club," Lloyd said on Nine's Footy Classified on Monday.
"Some people think it's a hopeless list, but I just think they've never quite had the mental resilience, the drive and the ability to play consistently in the last 20 years."
The Bombers evidently listened to that feedback and were quick to right their wrongs, led by captain Zach Merrett's 27 disposals, Kyle Langford's three goals and Jake Stringer's two goals.
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"We copped it all week and we really wanted to bounce back for each other and for the supporters," Langford told 7 post match.
Essendon had dropped nine of the last 10 matches against the Bulldogs, but didn't let history repeat itself, managing to have 10 goalkickers across the match.
"We deserved it last week (the flack) ... we really let ourselves down" Stringer said.
"To hold them (the Bulldogs) to under 70 points and put them under pressure was terrific."
It took over a quarter for the Bulldogs to muster up a response after the Bombers piled on six goals, kicking their first goal after a 40-minute dry spell.
They managed to stem the bleeding and reduce the margin in the final term, kicking the last two majors of the match, but the damage was already done.https://twitter.com/essendonfc/status/1778755946032042293
Essendon took home the Whitten Cup, that both clubs play in honour of E.J Whitten, a legend of the game who sadly passed away from cancer back in 1995.
"E.J Whitten is such a big name not only with the Western Bulldogs, but with AFL and VFL history ," Bombers skipper Merrett said post match.
The Bombers now sit 3-2 after five rounds, while the Bulldogs will go back to the drawing board, with a 2-3 record.
