Is this the game that proves Western Bulldogs are not finals contenders?

Essendon have sensationally bounced back from a Port Adelaide thumping to move into the top eight.

The Bombers had copped it from all angles after an insipid performance against the Power last week, but the so-called ‘edge’ returned on Friday night in a 15.6 (96) to 9.13 (67) victory.

For the Bulldogs, the pressure will mount on coach Luke Beveridge after a meek performance sees them tumble out of the top eight with a 2-3 record.

The margin wasn’t made clear in the key stats, but Esendon edged each one, giving them enough of a foothold to build into the 29-point win.

Another strong performance from Tom Libertore, who topped the night with nine clearances, was wasted as Marcus Bontempelli had a quiet night by his standards with just 17 disposals.

A competitive first half saw the two sides trade goals, with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan looking dangerous with two in the first quarter, but the Bombers kept finding targets at the other end.

The Bulldogs took a 10-point lead midway through the second term with Rhylee West’s second, but it was all Bombers after that.

Xavier Duursma had his best game since switching from the Power. He kicked the first of four straight goals for Essendon to lead at the half, including this dead-eye from the boundary.

Again, the Bulldogs continued to try their best out of the middle with Adam Treloar shining with XX, but they looked toothless in attack.

Ugle-Hagan would get his third, but Kyle Langford responded with his third, putting the Bulldogs under serious pressure and trailing by 14 points at the final change.

It was here the Bulldogs’ dam would break as the Bombers kicked five straight goals as Jake Stringer’s crunching tackle on Libertore summed up the night.

The Bulldogs would kick the final two goals of the game to add some respectability to the scorecard, but the game was well and truly buried by then.

Jye Caldwell (23 disposals, four clearances) and Zach Merrett (27 disposals) had big nights for the Bombers, but the faltering attack cost the Bulldogs.

They edged the inside 50s 50-49, but their accuracy let them down with nine behinds between Ugle-Hagan, Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton as they struggled to generate deep entires in the second half.