Essendon VFL suffered a 22-point defeat to Richmond at Kinetic Stadium on Saturday night.
In extremely blustery Frankston conditions, both sides struggled to establish a stronghold on the contest, with Essendon in particular finding troubles moving the ball forward of centre.
Despite looking active around contested ball and putting up good stoppage numbers, the Bombers were playing catch-up from early in the piece, managing just four goals to three-quarter-time and only finding some scoreboard reward for their work with three goals in the final 15 minutes.
It was often the final possession of the chain or on the inside 50 entry where Essendon lacked polish, unable to navigate the swirly breeze when scoring opportunities presented themselves - in transition, the Tigers looked the cleaner side.
The return of Darcy Parish (25 disposals, seven tackles, seven clearances) was a positive storyline, with the midfielder often looking a class above in terms of his ability to win inside ball and distribute well by hand.
Elijah Tsatas finished with a team-high 33 touches, while Zak Johnson continues to put his best foot forward in a push for a senior debut, racking up 27 disposals out of the back half.
Third-game defender Kieran Gallagher (19 disposals) stood strong in some crunch contests throughout the game and provided his best VFL outing to date, while lively forward Oskar Smartt finished with three goals, continuing a promising run of form over the last few weeks.
Operating as a solo ruck in the wake of the Bombers' recent injury troubles to their tall stocks, Vigo Visentini is going from strength to strength - the 19-year-old recorded 31 hit-outs and accumulated 20 possessions, getting around the ground and being used in link-up play thanks to his athleticism.
The Bombers currently sit at 3-4 for the campaign, looking to bounce back when they travel alongside their AFL contingent to face Brisbane's reserves at Brighton Homes Arena on Friday afternoon.
RICHMOND 2.4 6.8 7.11 10.14 (74)
ESSENDON 2.2 3.4 4.8 7.10 (52)
GOALS
Smartt 3, Eckersley, Davey Jnr, O'Neill, Lual
BEST
O'Neill, Tsatas, Parish, Johnson, Gallagher, Visentini
INJURIES
Saad El-Hawli (hamstring), Cam Nyko (hamstring)
