Essendon defender Courtenay Dempsey made a successful return from a knee injury, but he couldn’t stop the Bombers suffering NAB Cup defeats to West Coast and Fremantle on Sunday.

A youthful West Coast line-up booted the opening four goals of the match to prevail by 21 points – 0.9.3 (57) to 0.5.6 (36) – before a more experienced Fremantle dominated in a 36-point thumping, 1.7.5 (56) to 0.3.2 (20).

Dempsey, making his first appearance since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in round four last year, only played the first match against the Eagles, but looked sound in tallying seven possessions.

Essendon were error-prone against the Eagles, and didn’t have any answers against a hungry Dockers unit playing under new coach Ross Lyon for the first time.

Impressive Fremantle youngster Lachie Neale put his hand up for the season proper, booting two goals in an excellent first-up display.

For Essendon, rookie Cory Dell’Olio was impressive over the two games, boosting his chances of being elevated onto the Bombers’ senior list.

The Dockers were dominant in the opening half, and would have had a lead far greater than 13 points had they been more efficient when inside 50.

In contrast, Essendon made the most of their limited opportunities, booting two goals from their first three forward-50m entries to limit the damage.

But Fremantle made the most of their dominance in the second half, opening up a 31-point lead before cruising to the win.

It was West Coast’s small forwards who did the damage against Essendon in the first game.

All the talk leading into the match was about the prospect of former Bulldogs forward Josh Hill filling the void left by injured star Mark LeCras.

But it was fellow mid-sized forward Gerrick Weedon and 174cm speedster Ashton Hams who stole the show, combining for four goals to help lift the Eagles to the 0.9.3 (57) to 0.5.6 (36) victory.

Hill, playing through the midfield and up forward, was serviceable and kicked a late goal to push his case for a permanent spot in the Eagles’ 22.

The Bombers, minus the likes of Jobe Watson, Brent Prismall and Dustin Fletcher, were made to pay dearly for their error-prone display, with a youthful Eagles outfit capitalising on the glut of turnovers.

Weedon’s chase down of Anthony Long set the tone for the match, with the 20-year-old Eagle booting two goals in the opening 10 minutes as West Coast raced out to a 24-1 lead.