Josh Jenkins, in his first season at Essendon, starred with five goals to guide the Bendigo Bombers to their 30-point win over Geelong in round 17 of the VFL.

Jenkins, who was selected by the club in last year's NAB AFL Rookie Draft, has spent most of his 2011 season developing as a ruckman, but was able to lift the Bombers to their first win since round 12 on Sunday in a dominant display in attack.

""We played him mainly forward but a little bit in the ruck, and it was probably his best game of the year,"" Bendigo coach Shannon Grant said of Jenkins.

""He took some really strong contested marks inside our forward 50, and that was pleasing, but he was also converting them as well.

""He's certainly showed a fair bit of promise and is one who we're looking to put a fair bit more time into as a forward over the next month.""

Key defender Luke Davis also performed well in the win, with Grant saying the 18-year-old, and rookie Tyson Slattery, could be in line for senior positions given the injury-hit Essendon defence.

""It was probably Davis' best game for the year as well. They really held their own against some pretty good players in Geelong's Ben Johnson and Cameron Mooney,"" Grant said.

""Those two are continuing to get better every week and I think they definitely took a lot of steps forward yesterday.

""If they continue to play the way they have been, I'm sure their names will be spoken about. We have a bye this week so for them to be able to play the way they did, they go into the break confident in the way they've been playing their footy.""

Only five senior Essendon-listed players took part in Bendigo's win due to the club's lengthy injury list, but Michael Ross continued his push for an AFL debut with another strong performance.

""Rossy's been knocking on the door now for two or three weeks and he's just continued to get better the longer the year has gone.

""He's a terrific kid, he's certainly improved over the last two or three months, and I'm pretty sure he'll get an opportunity soon,"" Grant said.

After spending most of the first half of the season in the AFL, Grant also said ruckman Tom Bellchambers was striving for a return to the senior line-up.

""He won his ruck duel against Dawson Simpson and gave our midfielders the first use of the footy, and took some really strong marks around the ground as well. His input was great,"" Grant said.

""He's obviously disappointed he hasn't been playing in the senior side in the last couple of weeks but his attitude and the way he comes back and helps set up the midfield and lead the younger guys around him has been great.""