Essendon coach John Worsfold says Orazio Fantasia’s game is about much more than just statistics after his side’s impressive team effort in Saturday’s five-point victory over North Melbourne.

Fantasia gathered five disposals and was held goalless in the win, but still played a crucial role in freeing up fellow small forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti to be the star of the show with four cracking goals.

Drawing the attention of Kangaroos defender Marley Williams was a key to McDonald-Tipungwuti’s impressive performance and Worsfold said that credit goes to Fantasia.

“He took Marley Williams all night, which potentially meant that we were able to get McDonald-Tipungwuti into a position that we wanted him to be,” Worsfold said on Tuesday.

“The players play a role within the team and the team structure, so it’s a credit to him.”

The exciting forward averaged 14.2 disposals and two goals from his first seven games this year, but the last four matches have yielded a total of two goals and an average of 7.5 disposals.

However, Fantasia was still able to have an impact with his limited possessions against the Roos, playing a key part in the lead-up to McDonald-Tipungwuti’s stunning match-winning goal in the dying stages of the match, booting the ball deep inside the forward 50.

Worsfold said it is important for all players to remain selfless and trust their time to hit the scoreboard will come.

“We know Orazio is still going to have an impact throughout the course of this year for us.

“There have been games this year where Orazio’s kicked goals and ‘Walla’ hasn’t, because we work out the match-ups we want to try to see and maximise that.

“It’s a pretty narrow perspective just to say that it’s about Orazio and his numbers. He got the crucial kick inside 50 for ‘Walla’ to kick that goal, which had a big impact on the game.”

Worsfold was full of praise for McDonald-Tipungwuti, who has received two nominations from the match for the Coates Hire Goal of the Year.

The Bombers entered the game unchanged and he said finding that continuity in the side has been beneficial for the star forward and hisgoalkicking teammates.

“It’s great to see, he’s a very exciting player and he’s working in really well with the other forwards that are starting to play a bit more footy together.”