The Essendon that has beaten three top-four AFL sides this season will easily beat the Western Bulldogs this Sunday at Telstra Dome.

But the Bombers who led lowly Carlton by two points at halftime last Saturday would have been out of the game at that stage against any other side.

The chasm between Essendon's best and its worst this season means coach Kevin Sheedy is wary of the Bulldogs, who have won two of their last three games.

"The Western Bulldogs have got a couple of wins in the last couple of weeks, they're playing with a lot more confidence perhaps than what they were earlier," Sheedy said.

"They naturally wouldn't want to win the wooden spoon - we're probably playing a reverse grand final.

"It's a dangerous game ... it's a danger game every week for us, but it is also for the teams in the top four.

"You'd probably say the Western Bulldogs are playing better than Carlton."

Sheedy said there were two main factors involved in Essendon's woeful first half last Saturday - the strong wind blowing in from the construction end and a heavy training load leading up to the game.

He also played down the standard of the Carlton game, pointing to the blustery conditions.

The wind was also strong at Telstra Dome in the sunny conditions for the St Kilda-West Coast game.

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