Brisbane coach Michael Voss predicts a "red hot" clash with the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba, with the lure of a double chance in the AFL finals potentially on the line.

The Lions climbed to fifth place on the ladder on Saturday night when an after-the-siren goal from Daniel Bradshaw helped them to a draw with Essendon at the MCG, as the Lions scored 12.15 (87) to the Bombers' 13.9 (87).

The two premiership points put Brisbane within striking distance of the top four. They will overtake the fourth-placed Dogs if they beat them next Saturday night.

But Voss felt his side was lucky to share the points with Essendon, saying they were well below their best.

With the Bulldogs coming off a shock loss to West Coast, he predicted both sides would be ferocious.

"It's critical, absolutely," Voss said.

"It's a very big game and it's a very big game for them too because of the result they had (against the Eagles), so I'd imagine it would be a pretty red hot game."

He criticised his side for failing to meet team "standards" against Essendon, saying players did not stick to their assigned roles, the team lacked urgency and they were sloppy with disposal entering attack.

Voss said his team had worked too hard for most of the season to lose focus now.

"We're fighting for our lives at the back end of the year... that chance to be able to finish off our season well or finish where we need to be and what we've worked hard for," he said.

Bombers coach Matthew Knights was even more disappointed, saying it left a bitter taste to let a win slip away after leading with seconds to play.

"There were three or four things in that last three or four minutes from a maturity point of view we just need to learn from and get better at," Knights said.

Essendon now face an enormously tough task to make the finals, probably needing to win their remaining three games, starting with the mountainous challenge of unbeaten St Kilda next round.

But Knights praised his side's effort and spirit and said with a very young team, supporters should be able to glimpse a promising future.

"We put five young players in because we thought it was the right thing to do on form from (VFL affiliate) Bendigo, we played a younger forward line, obviously we think that's the future also," Knights said.

"This group's heading in the right direction, the playing group definitely is, so we've got to keep making sure the last three weeks they play out of their skins."

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