Essendon coach Brad Scott is confident his side has turned a corner in recent weeks after a strong performance against premiership contender Gold Coast at Carrara on Saturday.

The Bombers claimed a breakthrough win against Melbourne at Gather Round which was their first victory since round 11 last year and were right in the fight against the Suns, going down by just nine points.

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“There’s no doubt about that,” Scott said when asked if he felt the team had turned a corner.

“We’re working really hard to bridge the gap between where we are and probably a group of a dozen or more teams … that are high-quality teams.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do and we know that.

Umpire leaves the field after collision | 00:38

“The last couple of weeks there’s been things where you think, ‘That’s what we want to look like’ and you can see what we’re going to look like, sooner rather than later I hope.”

The Bombers’ much-improved showing came after their forgettable, injury-riddled 2025 campaign, which finished with a 95-point loss to the Suns on the Gold Coast.

When asked to reflect on his side’s progress, Scott said: “It’s been interesting. I’ve heard a few teams talk about they’ve had a few players out. Well we had 20 out … so cry me a river.”

As the club prepares for a blockbuster Anzac Day clash against Collingwood, Scott was impressed by the efforts of his young core.

Archie Roberts, selected at No. 54 in the 2023 draft, was again at the front of the Bombers’ charge with 33 disposals.

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“He’s a real competitor. I think back to the draft night, we rated him really highly and in the end we traded up to pick him and it was a very good pick and his development this stage is just continuing on a pretty steep upward curve,” Scott said.

“So he’s been terrific and I think there’s a lot of teams at the moment if they miss a couple of pieces of the puzzle, it has a flow-on effect.

“Roberts is terrific, but getting the back six somewhat together which we haven’t been able to do for a three or four year period, I think it’s really helped.”

The Bombers will nervously await news on the availability of defender Jordan Ridley who left the game in the second half with calf tightness.

“We’re not sure if there’s any damage there but he had a tight calf and we just have a no-risk approach with him,” Scott said.

“So fingers crossed he’s OK.”