Essendon burst out of the blocks against a sluggish and inaccurate West Coast to take the points in front of a hostile crowd at Optus Stadium.
Here's everything you need to know!
The Moment: Scott Lycett misses the unmissable
While the Bombers may have seized momentum - and the lead - early in the match and held onto it for the bulk of the evening, West Coast had their moments. With the ball bouncing towards the goal line, all ruckman Scott Lycett had to do was literally touch the ball with his foot. Unfortunately that proved too difficult, and any chance of closing the gap went begging.
A fresh airy for Scott Lycett!
— AFL (@AFL) June 21, 2018
After a review, this was overturned and judged a behind.#AFLEaglesDons pic.twitter.com/4S1TBQShRC
Where it was won: West Coast waste their opportunities
Essendon booted 8 goals to West Coast's 1 in the first half, but the Eagles had their chances - especially in the third quarter, where they kicked 6 behinds and just one goal. Any momentum they were able to build was washed away with each successive miss. Essendon, on the other hand, just keep hammering them home.
Mark Baguley finished it off but what about the jets from Orazio Fantasia?#AFLEaglesDons pic.twitter.com/ex5yQJLeoO
— AFL (@AFL) June 21, 2018
What’s next?
This loss will have an impact on the Eagles' confidence - they failed to fire a shot on their home deck, and a chance to go a game clear on top of the ladder went begging. Next round they take on Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
Essendon will be brimming with confidence, and will look to consolidate this win with a good performance against North Melbourne at Etihad.
Full Score
West Coast: 0.1, 1.6, 2.12, 6.16. (52)
Essendon: 6.2, 8.4, 9.7, 12.8. (80)
GOALS
West Coast: Cripps 2, Shuey, Naitanui, LeCras, Rioli
Essendon: Stringer 3, Smith 3, Bellchambers, Brown, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Guelfi, Baguley, Langford
BEST
West Coast: Hurn, Gaff, Yeo, Redden, Naitanui
Essendon: Saad, Smith, Heppell, Hooker, Merrett, Hurley, Goddard
INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
Essendon: Nil
Official crowd: 51,409 at Optus Stadium