ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights isn't prepared to use talk of finals as a carrot to dangle in front of his players to help them continue their AFL turnaround.

But Knights acknowledges the Bombers are in good form, and can only be boosted when some talented young players overcome injuries and return to the side.

Essendon's 37-point win over the Brisbane Lions at Telstra Dome on Saturday night — the Dons' fourth successive win — gives it an outside chance of reaching the finals given that it has a favourable draw over the coming month.

In the next four rounds, the Bombers play Richmond, Melbourne, Collingwood and West Coast, and aside from the Magpies, the other three opponents are in the bottom half of the competition.

Although pleased with Essendon's attacking game and its ability to withstand the Lions' challenges, Knights said he could not focus on the finals and instead had to throw his efforts into helping the players improve.

After eight successive defeats followed by four straight wins, Knights realised how quickly teams can strike a purple patch or slip off the pace.

"I'm very cautious when you say you've got a decent draw because teams can start stringing some good form together," he said after Essendon won 24.11 (155) to 18.10 (118).

"If you'd looked at us, for instance, who would have said a month ago that we were going to string four wins together? No one would have.

"We are playing better footy, but we've got 10 or 12 out who are unavailable and we wouldn't want to lose one, two or three players because we're right on the edge in regards to depth as it is. So a lot of things would have to fall into place for that (a finals berth) to happen."

Essendon's win was set up by a blistering, eight-goal opening quarter, based on a willingness to attack with creative handball, break tackles and pinpoint passing, which benefited the multi-pronged forward line.

Caught flat-footed, the Lions worked hard to get back into the match. Travis Johnstone became dangerous when in possession and Jonathan Brown (five goals) and Daniel Bradshaw (four) offered strong targets.

Essendon's Scott Lucas kicked five goals for the night.

AAP