Essendon has dominated St Kilda in a fight between two teams in a scrap for the lower spots in the AFL finals.

The Bombers surrendered the first point of the night, but never trailed again as they scored a 17.16 (118) to 7.15 (57) win at Docklands.

A last-quarter surge started to make things look more respectable, but Essendon refused to let up.

The Saints had trailed by 55 points at three-quarter-time before starting the final term with three straight goals by Jake Carlisle, Jared Gresham and Nick Riewoldt.

But that momentum was quickly stopped as Cale Hooker, Travis Colyer and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti slotted majors.

McDonald-Tipungwuti could have really padded his stats late in the night, but only kicked 1.1 on set shots in the term with one out on the full.

He had another late look from outside the 50-metre arc with seconds on the clock, but opted to pass to David Myers, who sent a left-foot bomb spearing through the big sticks to end the game.

Essendon key forward Joe Daniher was typically prolific on the night, kicking four goals, while Zach Merrett comfortably topped the disposals count with 37.

Essendon is now ninth on the ladder, having leapfrogged West Coast on percentage with Friday’s result.