Essendon used the final quarter of its 139-point Gold Coast massacre last week to prepare for Sunday's clash with West Coast, Bombers coach James Hird said on Thursday.

Hird said he wasn't worried the easy victory would harm his team's chances against the Eagles, who sit seventh on the ladder with three wins.

""If the second quarter [in which the Suns outscored Essendon] had have been the last, I would have been a little bit upset and a bit worried,"" he said.

""But we spoke at three-quarter time about actually preparing for the West Coast game and playing the way we wanted to play in that game. It was nice to be in a situation where we could do that.""

""We're mindful that when you're playing ahead of the ball, kicking goals with the ease some of our guys were doing, you (can) get away from the things that win you important games, which this one is,"" he said.

The Eagles won only four games in last year's home and away season, but beat Essendon twice, and also once in the NAB Cup.

Their meeting in round 16 was highlighted by Mark LeCras' bag of 12 goals, but Hird said he hadn't looked at that game in preparation for this one.

""We won't spend any time on what happened a year ago; we'll spend time on what they're doing the last four or five weeks, how they've prepared and built their side up,"" he said.

""We've spent time on the whole West Coast team and he's (LeCras) a very important part of them kicking goals, but they've also got some other forwards playing very well at the moment.""

Dustin Fletcher, who turns 36 on Saturday, will train on Thursday to prove his fitness after missing the Suns game with a knee injury.

Hird said Fletcher was a ""90 per cent"" chance of playing but he wasn't considered a definite inclusion.