Essendon VFL suffered a 63-point point defeat to Footscray at the NEC Hangar on Saturday.
The loss marks a ninth in a row for an undermanned Dons, who struggled to match a second-placed Dogs side with 17 AFL-listed players on the park compared to the home team's five.
The Bombers made a solid start with the wind advantage in the opening term, a long-range goal from Cam Nyko opening proceedings.
Skipper Xavier O'Neill and Jye Menzie each converted well from set shots to see the side into a slim lead at the first break - the Dogs arguably generated better chances early but took a while getting accustomed to the significant breeze in Tullamarine.
In the second quarter, it was one-way traffic as the rain began to pile down. Buku Khamis led the forward charge as the Bulldogs banged through five unanswered goals, with Arty Jones slotting one from outside 50 just before the half-time siren.
The Dons managed to stem the tide in the third term but were unable to make many tangible scoreboard inroads to cut the lead, barring a Noah Scott goal in the early stages of play resuming.
Despite slowing the opposition run and locking the game up, the inability to do damage at the other end again opened the door for Footscray to run away late.
With Footscray taking a comfortable five-goal lead at the final break, they added another six majors in the final half-hour to put the result beyond doubt.
Will Hoare drifted forward late to snare his first goal of the campaign in a nice moment for the defender.
O'Neill finished as the Bombers' best with 29 disposals and five clearances, fighting hard all day.
Kayle Gerreyn is adding new layers to his game, this week fronting up in defence and finishing with five marks and five intercept possessions in tricky conditions.
Alwyn Davey Jnr was also lively throughout the game playing further up the ground, picking up decent form in the back half of the season - he ended the day with 20 disposals and five tackles.
The Dons take on Sydney interstate next weekend.
ESSENDON 3.1 3.1 4.1 5.2 (32)
FOOTSCRAY 2.5 7.10 7.13 13.17 (95)
GOALS
Scott, O'Neill, Nyko, Menzie, Hoare
BEST
O'Neill, Davey, McKay, Gerreyn, Nguyen
