Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse has questioned whether his side is good enough to be an AFL finals contender after a meek 48-point loss to Essendon left the Magpies' top four hopes on life support.

The Bombers destroyed the Magpies at the MCG to resurrect their own chances of making the top eight and gravely injure Collingwood's bid to secure fourth place with a 19.14 (128) to 11.14 (80) win.

Collingwood had their trousers pulled down early by the Bombers, and struggled to raise them above their ankles for the rest of the match as Essendon dominated in all aspects.

Midfielder Andrew Welsh starred with four goals and 29 possessions, while Matthew Lloyd also booted four majors.

Onballer Jobe Watson, who had 41 touches, was also outstanding while ruckman David Hille was perhaps the most influential player on the ground as he crushed the Magpies out of the middle.

Collingwood's general malaise was evident everywhere, and in a damning assessment of his fifth-placed side's finals credentials, Malthouse wondered aloud about the quality and form of his players.

"Quite frankly I don't know whether we're good enough," Malthouse said.

"We just haven't got the cattle at the moment playing well enough at either end of the ground and perhaps more importantly in the middle.

"The clearance rate was good, but there was nothing clean out of it."

For Essendon, beaten by 12 goals the last time the two sides met, the five goals to one first term ensured there would be no repeat of their Anzac Day embarrassment.

Welsh booted three inside the first 10 minutes and was the catalyst for his side as they drove forward at every opportunity - Bombers coach Matthew Knights demanding his team adopt an aggressive mindset.

Twice Collingwood wound back five-goal leads to within a goal - Travis Cloke kicking three of the Magpies' five unanswered from late in the first quarter to halftime.

But once Hille asserted his dominance in the ruck and Lloyd revelled in the freedom of a role further up the ground than usual, the Bombers wound their lead back out past five goals.

Essendon were reeled in to 19 points at the final change, then kicked seven goals to two in the last quarter to seal the victory.

Fittingly it was Welsh who put the issue beyond doubt midway through the term, winning a 50-50 ball, chasing it down, then booting truly for his fourth goal.

Knights praised his team's win as "a very satisfying victory", leaving the Bombers two wins adrift of the top eight.

"The resilience was the most important thing," Knights said.

"When Collingwood challenged us twice, we were able to focus on our game plan and our style, and that's credit to the players."

Both sides will be sweating on the match review panel on Monday, with Collingwood's Alan Didak and Essendon's Scott Lucas both reported for striking in separate incidents, while Magpie Leon Davis was booked for making front-on contact.

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