Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is an expression with which Essendon supporters have become increasingly familiar over the past month and a bit.

Last week’s game against bottom team Gold Coast certainly wasn’t one which went according to plan. But once again the Bombers were able to drag themselves back into a contest in which at one stage midway through the third quarter, they trailed by 27 points.

It’s been five weeks of close shaves. But the wash-up is a finals berth so close Essendon can taste it, now in seventh place on the ladder two games clear of eighth.

That momentum must be maintained, however, particularly at home this week against a Port Adelaide side which has just lost its third game on the trot, but against three very good teams.

The Power are unpredictable, but on their day, still very capable, and will be desperate to maintain their own chances of sneaking a finals spot. Essendon can ensure that doesn’t happen by addressing these five key questions surrounding the contest.

1. We’ve won five games in a row, Port Adelaide has lost four of its last five. Shouldn’t we be confident?

Yes, but not ridiculously so. First off, all those five wins have involved comebacks from deficits, three times of 20 points or more. And four of the victories have been by 10 points or less, a pretty fine line.

Next, Port Adelaide’s three straight losses have been to three quality teams in Brisbane, Richmond and Greater Western Sydney, and its previous defeat was against an in-form Western Bulldogs.

And while the Power can’t find a win at the moment, its biggest issue is about conversion, with its numbers in most of the other fundamental categories at worst sound. Indeed, Port on differentials currently ranks No.1 in the AFL for clearances, fourth for contested possession and second for uncontested possession. And it racks up more inside 50 entries than any other team.

The problem is doing anything with them, the Power last in the AFL for goals from forward entries, earning maximum points from just 19 per cent of their inside 50s.

2. So how does Essendon exploit the Power’s weaknesses?

The Giants’ defence had a picnic in last week’s win over Port Adelaide. Having dropped Charlie Dixon, the Power had an even smaller forward set-up than usual, but despite that continually bombed the ball deep inside 50, which allowed the GWS backmen to spoil and mop up with relative ease.

Port has beefed up its forward stocks as a result, with Dixon back, along with Todd Marshall, and ruckman Peter Ladhams coming in to replace Scott Lycett. Another reflection, though, of Port’s scoring issues is the fact it ranks No.1 for forward half intercepts, but again, last for scoring from them.

Essendon can take advantage of those problem areas in two ways. First, by ensuring that when Port has possession going forward, its ball carriers are put under so much physical heat that they resort to the long “bail out” kick inside the scoring zone, giving the likes of Cale Hooker, Patrick Ambrose, Aaron Francis and Marty Gleeson time to get organised and support each other in the air.

The other is when the Bombers take possession in the back half, using the speed of Conor McKenna and Adam Saad to transition forward, eluding the tackling pressure of Port’s Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Sam Gray.

3. Any chance we could stop falling behind and not need to come back?

That would certainly ease the pressure on a few dodgy Essendon-supporting tickers. Over the past five weeks, despite five victories on end, the Bombers have won only four of 10 first or second quarters as opposed to seven of 10 third or fourth terms.

There’s no doubting the resilience, but it would be handy if the Dons could use their fitness and running power late in games to ram home an advantage rather than rescue themselves from impending defeat. Indeed, Champion Data stats revealed during the week that over the past eight matches, Essendon has led for only 44 per cent of game, a ranking of just 10th for time in front, despite having won seven of those eight games.

The propensity for a tardy start is certain to have been a focus area at The Hangar this week, the Dons’ 4.4 first term against North Melbourne three weeks ago the best return yet in first-half time over this winning run.

4. Essendon’s scores have gone up over the last couple of weeks. How do we keep the scoreboard ticking over?

By continuing to do what we’ve done the last two wins in particular, stay mobile in the scoring zone and keep applying the forward line pressure. Mitch Brown has made a big difference with his hard running, drawing opposing defenders out of their comfort zones to not only kick goals himself, but open up space for others.

He had a very handy ally in that regard last week in Shaun McKernan, while Jake Stringer continues to take all before him not only with valuable grunt work in the middle, but conjuring goals seemingly from nothing.

The result has been Essendon’s two highest scores since round five and goals per inside 50 percentages of 30 and 29 per cent, where the Dons’ season average has been only 22.5 per cent.

This week, there’s another potential match-turner in Orazio Fantasia to join the party, providing even more flexibility alongside the talls and the ground level pressure of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti. It’s a forward set-up looking as balanced as the Bombers have fielded for a while.

5. How big a factor does the venue loom in determining the result?

Both sides might appreciate the closed roof a bit more after battling some greasy conditions in their respective games last week. But Marvel Stadium is at the moment a very handy asset for the Bombers, their current record nine wins in the last 10 appearances (the one defeat by only 11 points), their best run since late 2011 until mid-2012.

Port Adelaide hasn’t had a lot of experience of Docklands lately, meanwhile, having played there only four times since mid-2016 for three losses. Two of those defeats were against Essendon, a 22-point defeat last year and a 70-point belting in 2017. And the Power’s only game under the roof in 2019 also produced a loss, Port going down to Collingwood by 39 points in round seven.

Centre bounce clearances always assume plenty of importance at Marvel Stadium, which will encourage the Power, equal No.1 in the AFL in that area with an average of 12.8 per game. Essendon has been more than handy also, though, averaging 12.4 per game for a ranking of fourth. It makes the ruck battle between Zac Clarke/Shaun McKernan and Paddy Ryder/Peter Ladhams an interesting one.

You can read more of Rohan Connolly’s work at his FOOTYOLOGY website.