Essendon’s backline led the way as the side held on for their second victory of the season.

The Bombers were in front for most of the match against Carlton but fell short around the clearances (53-30).

“Plenty of balls in the backline today so it was good to stand up under a bit of pressure,” Bomber veteran Dustin Fletcher said.

Fletcher was returning to the side after sitting out the win against Hawthorn. 

He had 17 possessions while Cale Hooker continued his good form pulling in 12 marks and gathering 21 possessions.

Michaels Hurley and Hibberd were also strong performers, not only nullifying their opponents but also launching a number of counter attacks that resulted in Essendon goals.

“They’ve been sensational (Hooker and Hurley).  Baggers (Mark Baguley) and Hibbo as well and even Gleeso (Martin Gleeson) who’s been there the last two weeks has been really good,” Fletcher said. 

“Plenty of balls in the backline today so it was good to stand up under a bit of pressure.”

The Bombers led by 36 points at three quarter time but the Blues rallied in the last.

Four Carlton goals saw the margin cut to 14 points but Essendon steadied. 

“We just had to stay composed with the footy when we got our opportunity to slow the game down a bit and get the game back on our terms,” Bomber defender Martin Gleeson said.

“We’ve got a lot to work on going in to next week.  We’ve just got to keep doing our fundamentals right like the contest and our pressure around the footy so we’ll go back and work on that during the week.”