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Essendon have come from behind at three-quarter time to score a 10-point AFL win over Sydney at the MCG.

Essendon are well and truly back in the AFL finals hunt after overcoming the late withdrawal of star skipper Dyson Heppell and a stern challenge by Sydney to score a gritty 10-point win at the MCG.

The Swans led by three points at three-quarter time, but the Bombers sprang to life to boot the first four goals of Saturday afternoon's final term to set up a 11.10 (76) to 9.12 (66) win in front of 60,199 fans.

And they did it without Heppell, who dropped out with a sore foot.

"I'm really satisfied with the win ... I'm really pleased with the way everyone has stepped up," coach John Worsfold said.

"I'm just really pleased with the way the guys stuck to what we want to achieve, even though it took us a while to get there."

The victory was the fourth in their past five matches, moving the Bombers back into the finals mix with an 8-7 record.

But Worsfold warned his side were still very much a work-in-progress.

"We're working pretty hard on where we want to get to and we're not there yet. We understand that," he said.

"I said earlier in the year that I'm frustrated at times and our supporters get frustrated, but this is about trying to win the ultimate (prize) - not just be a good team.

"So we've got to stay committed to that."

There was plenty to be frustrated about in a first half played largely at half pace.

Neither team appeared keen to take the game on, with the Bombers edging to a five-point lead at the end of a half that produced only seven goals in perfect conditions.

The Swans lifted the tempo in the third term and dominated the inside-50 count without taking full advantage on the scoreboard.

Sam Reid booted two goals for the quarter, but the Swans only had a three-point three-quarter time lead to show for all their momentum.

Worsfold played his ace, sending Cale Hooker forward, but it was the Bombers' midfield, led by Dylan Shiel (29 possessions), Darcy Parish (22) and David Zaharakis (22 touches and three goals), who gained the upper hand in the last quarter.

The loss snapped a run of three wins for Sydney, whose last victory against the Bombers at the MCG was in 1923, and dropped them to a 6-9 record.

But Swans coach John Longmire wasn't about to give up the season.

"Clearly, we want to keep making finals ... we might be the only team the last decade or so that's been able to do it (consistently)," Longmire said.

"We want to keep doing it - that's what we're about, but we've still got to go forward as a team and we feel like we're doing that.

"It's not going to go always upwards. There's going to be some plateaus and maybe even a step backwards, but there's still some good signs."