In the wake of their rousing 18-point win over Adelaide, Essendon mid-forward Archie Perkins is excited by the immediate challenges that lie ahead.

Perkins brought a steady blend of grunt work and outside run to the Bombers’ midfield on Sunday, finishing with a career-high 24 disposals and 10 contested possessions.

Going into the crunch clash, Perkins and his side were well aware of the importance in bringing the pressure early and negating the Crows’ firepower.

“(We knew it was) a very important game coming in with big implications. To be able to stand up when they had the momentum, I don’t think they got in control too much and we were able to peg it back, that was the most pleasing part I’d say,” Perkins said.

“It was a high-pressure game and that was a big focus of ours. Every time you got the ball there was someone tackling you on both sides, so to be able to get on top was pleasing.”

02:11

Rd 17 | Perkins post-game

We chat with medium forward Archie Perkins following our round 17 win over the Adelaide Crows.

The Bombers pieced together arguably their best first half of the season to date against the Crows, booting 12.9 and at one stage leading the inside 50 count by more than 20.

Despite a renewed defensive focus as a group this season, Perkins believes that the ability to break the game open rapidly is always possible when the Bombers have it clicking.

“I feel we’ve always got that in us when we play our way, especially at Marvel (Stadium) we can put on a lot of score pretty quickly,” Perkins said.

“We knew (Adelaide) were going to come and they’re a pretty potent side who can score quite heavily, so to be able to not let them get on the board too much was good.”

08:43

Rd 17 | Match highlights

Rewatch all the best moments from our round 17 win over the Crows.

Essendon have an enticing clash with Geelong at GMHBA Stadium to look forward to on Saturday night, with a mere two points separating the sides on the ladder.

With the reigning Premiers’ credentials still apparent, Perkins is keen to see how the Bombers attack their next major hurdle.

“It’s exciting again, the tests just keep on coming. Down at Kardinia Park, (Geelong are) a pretty formidable opponent so it’s another great challenge for this group,” Perkins said.

“As we’ve shown this year, we’re up to anything that anyone throws at us, so it’s exciting.”