Outstanding midfielder Adam Cooney ruined the occasion for Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, leading the Western Bulldogs to a 33-point AFL win.

Cooney was awesome with 31 possessions and three goals as the 'Dogs took control after quarter-time to win 20.11 (131) to 14.14 (98) at Telstra Dome.

It was a vital win for the Bulldogs and consolidated their spot in the top eight.

The two teams were level on points before tonight and Essendon will drop out of the eight after Port Adelaide's big win earlier today over West Coast.

Western Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson kicked five goals and midfielder Jobe Watson worked hard for the Bombers.

Sheedy broke the all-time AFL record for the most games as a player and coach.

As speculation continues over whether Sheedy will go into a 28th season next year, his total of 879 games took him past Collingwood legend Jock McHale.

Essendon midfielder Scott Camporeale also reached 250 senior matches, but limped off in the third term.

Trailing by 15 points at the last break, the Bombers kicked the first goal of the final term to briefly challenge.

The Bulldogs then kicked eight goals to four for a convincing win.

Essendon lost key players James Hird, Alwyn Davey, Dustin Fletcher and Mark McVeigh, and eventually they lacked the class to go with the Bulldogs.

The Bombers were particularly ineffective in attack, with captain Matthew Lloyd only kicking one goal.

The Western Bulldogs started and finished the first half impressively to lead by 22 points at halftime.

Trailing by a point at quarter-time, the Bulldogs kicked five goals to one in the second term.

Bulldogs veteran Chris Grant was a late withdrawal with a groin injury, while midfielder Scott West's late bid for selection failed.

After being ruled out with a groin injury, West was included late on Friday as an emergency.

There was strong speculation through the day that he would force his way into the team, but Grant's withdrawal for Dylan Addison was the only change.

The 'Dogs smashed Essendon early, kicking the first four goals of the match to lead by 26 points midway through the first term.

Essendon then kicked the next four goals to improbably take the lead.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade was furious at quarter-time and made a beeline for full-back Brian Harris, whose bad turnover from a kick out resulted in Essendon's fourth goal just before quarter-time.

Eade also "cooked" Lindsay Gilbee and Matthew Robbins at the first huddle.

The Bombers had their chances to keep pace with the Bulldogs in the second term, but could manage just 1.5.

Eade revealed post-match that Cooney nearly did not play because of a family health scare.

His girlfriend's young daughter remained in hospital.

"'Coons' stood up after a tough 24 hours, he was close to not playing," Eade said.

"It was a quite an emotional game for him."

Eade praised the team for an even performance, but admitted their skills were poor during an error-riddled second term.

"Both teams brought their own sets of knives in that second quarter, we just butchered the ball equally as much," he said.

The Bulldogs' next opponent will be Geelong, which on Saturday won their 10th-straight game.

But Eade noted his side had come through a month of must-win games well.

"I know it's an old cliche, but we've had four weeks in a row now really that have been 'eight-point' games.

"We've won three of them, so we've had a pretty solid month....it certainly doesn't get any easier.

"They (Geelong) will be a big challenge for our group."

Eade confirmed that West was close to playing and said he and Grant should return for the match against the Cats.

The Bulldogs coach also praised Sheedy for his milestone.

"Kevin has been a legend of the game and we all know that, what he's been able to do as a player, a coach and then for the game in general and his club," he said.

But Sheedy himself said his team had been found wanting for pace and skill.

"We just need to get some very experienced players back and we need some pace in the side, to be honest," he said.

"Our ball skills, our kicking skills, really let us down early."

He also revealed Camporeale had suffered a knee injury that could end his season.

The former Carlton player is 31 and comes out of contract at the end of this year.

"He may be somewhere between five and eight weeks," Sheedy said.

When asked to comment about the delicacy of Camporeale's contract situation, Sheedy alluded to his own plight.

"Aw well, everybody is out of contract at the end of the season," he said.

"The deal is, we're happy he's got to 250 games, he still got the ball okay, he needs to use the ball a little bit better.

"He'd be very disappointed, obviously - halfway through his 250th game, he's had the ball 17 or 18 times and he's got to come off.

"If it's a serious injury, it will be very disappointing for him."

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