Stand-in skipper Matthew Lloyd was the standout as Essendon ended its Port Adelaide hoodoo and remained firmly in the AFL finals hunt with a 40-point victory at Telstra Dome.

The Bombers came into the match having lost their last six matches to Port dating back to early 2001, and with only one victory in their last six outings.

In contrast, Port was riding a six-game winning streak.

But it was the Bombers who were in control for much of the night, although Port twice got within nine points early in the final term.

Power utility Shaun Burgoyne then hit the post with a shot for goal that would have got the margin down to four points.

The Bombers rushed the ball to the other end of the ground where Lloyd marked and kicked the sixth of his seven goals.

He also gave away a couple of other goals to teammates and crunched Power centre half-back Chad Cornes with a classic hip and shoulder in a consummate all-round performance in the 18.11 (119) to 11.13 (79) victory.

Essendon improved its win-loss record to 10-8 and moved back into the top eight at the expense of the Kangaroos.

With Brisbane also losing , Melbourne can go a game clear at the top of the ladder if it beats cellar dweller Hawthorn on Sunday and Geelong downs St Kilda.

Essendon led by three points at quarter-time and broke the game open by kicking six goals to two in the second term.

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