Essendon has jumped into fifth spot on the ladder with a three-point win over a fast-finishing Adelaide outfit on Sunday afternoon.

The Bombers had long periods of dominance on the stats sheet, but Lachlan Murphy's third major of the day brought the Crows to within a goal with five minutes left to play. 

Adelaide was rampant late but kicked 1.6 in the last quarter and fell short at the final hurdle. 

Zach Merrett was the difference for the Bombers with 33 disposals in the 9.8 (62) to 8.11 (59) victory.

The Bombers applied intense pressure all afternoon with 73 tackles, 17 of them coming inside the forward 50 thanks to its mosquito fleet. 

Taylor Walker stood up tall for the Crows, pulling in four contested marks and leading from the front in a side that lost Tom Doedee and Brad Crouch to hamstring injuries during the match. 

Adelaide will be eyeing its first win under Matthew Nicks with games against North Melbourne and Melbourne next on the schedule. 

ADELAIDE                   2.1       4.3       7.5     8.11 (59)
ESSENDON                2.1       5.4       8.5       9.8 (62)

GOALS
Adelaide: Murphy 3, Walker 2, Stengle, Smith, Seedsman
Essendon:  McDonald-Tipungwuti 2, Langford 2, Cahill 2, Laverde, Townsend, Parish

BEST
Adelaide:  Seedsman, Murphy, Walker, M.Crouch, Smith, O'Brien
Essendon: Merrett, McGrath, Langford, Snelling, Parish, Ridley

INJURIES
Adelaide:  B.Crouch (hamstring), Doedee (hamstring)
Essendon: Laverde (ankle)