A four goal last quarter to Cale Hooker helped the Bombers hold off North Melbourne at Eithad Stadium.

Hooker finished with five goals for the match to go with nine marks as his physical presence caused the Kangaroos defence headaches in the final term.

“I missed a couple at the end of the third quarter so I wanted to make up for it,” Hooker said.

The Bombers booted seven goals to four in the final quarter to run out 27 points winners.

North Melbourne came into the match in 17th position but outplayed the Dons for periods of the match, particularly in the first half.

The Bombers recorded 23 inside 50s to the Kangaroos 35 in the opening two quarters.

But the Dons made the most of their opportunities and each side went into the major break with eight goals on the board, before the Bombers generated greater fluency in the second half.

“They locked it in their half a fair bit and we struggled to move it out of there,” Hooker said.

“We spoke about moving the ball a bit differently and a few things we could do to get it out of there and we were able to do that in the third and fourth quarters.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to ‘guts’ it out and full credit to North Melbourne, they played some really good footy.”

The win marks Essendon’s third victory in a row, a feat it hasn’t achieved since 2014. 

“We’re certainly playing more consistent footy which is pleasing,” Hooker said.

“It doesn’t really feel like three in row, it’s hard to describe – we’re just concentrating on each week and it’s a big match coming up against the Bulldogs, so we’re looking forward to that.”