Essendon maintained their spot in the AFL top eight after comfortably overcoming Sydney at the SCG on Saturday afternoon.

On the day the Swans farewelled Barry Hall, they lacked plenty of spark up forward without their long-time spearhead in a 15.17 (107) to 10.12 (72) defeat in front of 30,924 fans.

The Swans' proud streak of consecutive finals appearances seems certain to end at six, with the 35-point loss dropping them to 6-9 for the season, while the Bombers are well-placed for September at 8-7.

There were plenty of stand-outs for the visitors, including Andrew Welsh, Brent Stanton, Andrew Lovett and Jobe Watson, while Matthew Lloyd and Jason Winderlich finished with three goals each.

Ryan O'Keefe was again outstanding for Sydney, while Adam Goodes had an impact and Michael O'Loughlin kicked three goals as he nears the end of his wonderful career.

There was no place in the Sydney side for young tall Jesse White, who appears the most likely current player able to fill Hall's massive boots in the forward line.

White's eight goals in the reserves last week weren't enough to earn him a recall to the senior side, so he followed that up with 12 in the seconds on Saturday to surely find a way back into the team for next week's away clash with Carlton.

With Hall's absence the Swans used tall defender Lewis Roberts-Thomson in the forward line alongside O'Loughlin and they both kicked early goals for the home side.

The teams ended a fairly even opening term with four goals apiece, but the Bombers gradually worked their way on top.

Sydney didn't kick a goal in the second term until the 25-minute mark, by which stage Essendon had kicked another four as they took an 18-point lead into halftime.

The Bombers continued the trend with four more goals in the third quarter to Sydney's two to take a 31-point lead into the final change before coasting home.

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