Essendon have done enough after a sloppy start to avoid an upset loss on the Gold Coast and keep their AFL finals hopes alive.

Needing a win to stay within reach of the top eight, the Bombers misfired early to trail by five at the break on Saturday night.

But the tiring Suns couldn’t go with them and Essendon prevailed 13.17 (95) to 6.15 (51) as the Coast managed just 16 points after halftime.

Essendon were off the boil in the opening half and the Suns hungrier as they threatened to end a 10-game losing streak and sink the Bombers’ season.

But the visitors shot to the lead immediately after the main break through Darcy Parish before Mitch Brown’s left-foot snap edged them further ahead.

Mark Baguley (three goals) then marked strongly before kicking his second to shoot clear and allow the Bombers to cruise through the final quarter.

Michael Hurley was good early for Essendon, while Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett finished with 36 touches each and former Sun Adam Saad wasn’t missed in his first visit back to the Gold Coast.

Suns workhorse Nick Holman hassled Saad to good effect in the first half and kicked three on his way to being one of the host’s best.

Gold Coast captain Steven May (hip) struggled through the second half in what could be more bad news for the 3-13 side.

Neither side could hit a target early, with even the shortest of kicks sprayed on a relatively cold night at Metricon Stadium.

Bomber Shaun McKernan broke the deadlock with the game’s first goal after 14 minutes before Devon Smith provided some welcome polish.

Smith trapped, ducked a tackle and curled a grubbing kick from the pocket for a champagne goal that defied an otherwise sloppy contest.

The Suns then got their teeth into the game, Aaron Young kicking the first of his two goals before Holman opened his account.

The Suns’ 4.11 first half wasn’t as wasteful as it read but there were enough costly misses to ensure a five-point buffer was quickly swallowed up.