Melbourne rallied from a testing week to blitz Essendon in the second half and win their AFL match by 33 points at the MCG.

The Demons smashed Essendon in the third term 6.2 to 0.1 and withstood the Bombers' last-quarter rally to win 15.11 (101) to 10.8 (68).

Melbourne midfielder Jordan Gysberts was best afield with 30 possessions and captain Brad Green led his team superbly, kicking four goals.

Normally-reserved coach Dean Bailey punched the air with delight late in the last term and ran onto the field at the final siren.

The challenge for the inconsistent Demons will be to build on the upset win.

Essendon kicked the opening three goals of the last term and reduced the margin to 13 points.

But Bombers forward Stewart Crameri missed two crucial shots on goal midway through the quarter.

Then Green soccered the ball out of mid-air brilliantly for his fourth goal at 19 minutes to stop Essendon's momentum.

Melbourne kicked the last three goals of the match, Brent Moloney adding the exclamation mark close to the final siren with a 50m bomb on the run.

The Demons were indignant during the week, saying Carlton had accused them of playing "bruise-free" football when the Blues beat them last Friday night.

As Melbourne ran out onto the ground for the start of the match, their banner read "Whatever it takes, mongrel or brilliance, go hard, go Dees, push the limits".

Essendon were the latest team to look somewhat sluggish the week after a bye, but still withstood Melbourne's early challenge.

The Bombers led by seven points at halftime and looked the team more likely to take control.

Adding to Melbourne's problems, top midfielder Colin Sylvia suffered a corked thigh in the first term and eventually was subbed out of the game before halftime.

But Melbourne were outstanding in the third term, finding the extra gear they have been seeking for much of this season.

They opened up Essendon through the midfield and rebounded strongly from defence as the Bombers lost their bearings.

Melbourne also started winning more of the clearances, with Gysberts and midfielder Jordie McKenzie working hard at the stoppages.

The Demons made five changes for this match, four of them unforced, and all of them played important parts.

Top draft picks Tom Scully and Jack Trengove, halfback James Strauss and first-gamers Max Gawn and Jeremy Howe all gave Melbourne extra spark.

The young Demons side featured 14 players with less than 50 games' experience and five who had played less then five matches.

Scully and Strauss were also playing their first senior games of the year.

Bailey said he was proud of his team, adding every player had contributed to the win.

He also revealed club president Jim Stynes had spoken to the team a day before he had another bout of surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his brain.

The operation on Thursday was successful.

"It probably all started when Jimmy came out and spoke to the players during the week," Bailey said.

"He gave Max Gawn his jumper, he spoke about the importance of showing resilience.

"He also mentioned when he handed the jumper over to Maxy that ... (after) his first game, he was dropped the next week.

"So he was making the point that it doesn't matter how often you get knocked down, it's how you get back up.

"He was terrific and this was 12-14 hours before he went into surgery - the big bloke was an inspiration during the week, no doubt, and the players took that message."

Essendon also lost to Richmond before the bye, leaving them mid-table with five wins and a draw from 10 games.

The Bombers have not done well interstate in the last few seasons and they face a major challenge next Sunday when they play Fremantle in Perth.

Coach James Hird said this bad patch showed his developing team still had a lot of improvement to make.

The good news for Essendon is that they will regain captain Jobe Watson and tall utility Michael Hurley for the Dockers match.

"Having been in football a long time, there are periods throughout every year and every season ... you don't play as well as you would have liked," Hird said.

"We would hope we get through this lean patch as quickly as possible.

"We came into this job, as a coaching group, knowing there was a lot of work to do and a lot of improvement to be had before we can really call ourselves a good team.

"We've had some success this year and some real improvement in certain areas, but games like (Friday night) show you there's a lot more improvement needed.

"As disappointing as (Friday night) is, it's a reality check for everyone that Essendon have a lot of work to do."

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