Essendon has kept its AFL finals chances alive with a hard-fought 36-point win over Geelong at Telstra Dome.

The Cats never let Essendon totally dominate, but poor disposal let them down too often as the Bombers won 20.9 (129) to 15.3 (93).

Damian Cupido kicked five goals for Essendon and Geelong's Steve Johnson finished with three.

Essendon midfielder Damien Peverill was best afield after coming off the bench in the first term.

He had 31 possessions in his best game so far this season.

All the pre-game focus was on the debut of Jobe Watson, the son of Bombers legend Tim Watson, who started the match in attack.

But he came off midway through the first term for another big Bombers name, Joel Reynolds.

The grandson of the club's most famous player, Dick Reynolds, played well in attack, especially during the first half.

Watson's first touch came late in the third term at half-forward.

He gathered the ball and could have had a shot on goal, but handballed to Adam Ramanauskas, who was wrapped up in a tackle.

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