Essendon has suffered a surprise defeat, outlasted by the Kangaroos on Friday night at the MCG. The Bombers were behind at every change, but drew within one point in the final term before succumbing by eight points. The Dons had won the past six matches against the Kangaroos and looked like they might triumph again, but the Roos were too steady when it counted. Adam Ramanauskas, Dustin Fletcher and Mark Johnson were among the Dons' better players.