52 points (13 wins, four losses) 117.4 per cent

AFL.com.au says:
The Bombers are suddenly wobbling. With so much happening off the field, the Dons have also lost their past two games in sorry fashion. Collingwood taught the Bombers a lesson on Sunday, which came after the heavy loss to Hawthorn. Suddenly, a top four berth is no given. Essendon has a very hard run home, with four hungry teams to round out the season.  

The coach says:
We have won 13 for the year and have played some really good football but our last few weeks haven’t been great. We will back up next week play the West Coast Eagles and play well. I think every side that is playing in that top half of the competition at the moment is just worrying about next week. We have to get our game back to a level that we want to get back, back to a level that we want to play so our focus is not about top four or the next four weeks. Our focus is on the West Coast Eagles in seven days time. James Hird – 5/08/13

The run home:
Rd 20: West Coast at Etihad Stadium
Rd 21: North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium
Rd 22: Carlton at the MCG
Rd 23: Richmond at the MCG