Essendon midfielder Brendon Goddard expects his teams versatility within games to be a valuable weapon come September.

Defender Michael Hurley shot into a swingman role against the Suns on the weekend converting his solid start down back into two goals in attack.

Ruckman Paddy Ryder and Goddard also pushed forward during the contest to kick five goals between them.

“It’s a strength we do have, and with more games we can get a bit more confident with our ability to swap around ourselves,” Goddard said.

“With maturity, it’s about doing it at the right time.”

“It’s about games giving guys the responsibility themselves, as there are enough messages already from the coaches.”

The 29-year-old played a staring role for the Bombers in their gutsy 19-point win, collecting 28 disposals and nine marks to go with his three goals.

He wound back the clock to the 2010 Grand Final taking a screamer in the forward pocket during the third quarter.

“I didn’t really think about it, I just had a run at the ball and a jump at it, and I’m not quite sure who it was underneath me, so it got me by surprise a little bit,” admitted Goddard.

“But it’s always good to take a mark like that.”

The win has almost certainly locked up a finals berth for the Bombers, who look unlikely to be dislodged from the top eight with one round remaining, a game clear in seventh position.

Goddard conceded that winning ugly in the lead up to finals might actually be beneficial for the team.

“They come to play, so it wasn’t as if we had it all our way. At different stages we made it hard for ourselves,” he said.

“It wasn’t pretty, but sometimes you’ve got to win ugly.”

“We got over the line, we did what we needed to and now that we’ve cemented a spot, we’ve probably got one week to get things right.”

“It’s good to win those games ugly coming into finals because it was a tough game.”