IF IT felt like it had been a long time since you had seen an Essendon key forward dominate a game like Peter Wright did on Sunday, then you were spot on.

Wright hit rarefied air against the Bulldogs with his seven-goal haul, a commanding, straight-kicking assault that saw the Bombers cause one of the upsets of the season.

'Two-metre Peter' turned 'Out-of-sight Wright' as the former Sun, who was traded at the end of last season to the Bombers, kicked three goals in the second term, one in the third and then three in the last to steer Essendon back into finals contention.

He also became just the fourth Bomber to kick seven or more goals in a game since 2010, the first season the club had following goalkicking legend Matthew Lloyd's retirement at the end of 2009.

Wright joins an eclectic group of goalkickers to have reached the mark over the previous 12 seasons.

The most recent Bomber to boot seven was Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, whose career-high haul came against Brisbane in round four, 2019 with an electric performance at the MCG.

Prior to that, it was former Bomber and current Saint Jake Carlisle who was sent forward against the Western Bulldogs in round 18, 2014 and kicked eight goals in a best-afield showing.

And before Carlisle was Kyle Reimers, whose eight-goal game against Gold Coast in round six, 2011, lives in infamy after the Bombers posted a record first-quarter score (15.4 to 0.1) against the Suns that day at Docklands. Reimers, Carlisle and McDonald-Tipungwuti all received three Brownlow Medal votes for their big hauls, with Wright surely set for the same this year.

Wright, who had booted 18 goals this season before his dismantling of the Bulldogs, also bettered his previous career-best game, which was a five-goal more than five years ago for the Suns in 2016.

"It was pretty good, wasn't it?" coach Ben Rutten said post-game.

"I think he's had some really strong games throughout the season and he's starting to build some real momentum and consistency in his game. But today he was able to execute and get on the end of a few and his goalkicking was fantastic.

"His ability to present up at the ball was great."  

For the record, Lloyd kicked seven or more goals 24 times in his champion career at Essendon, with his last coming in 2008 before his retirement the following season.

SEVEN OR MORE GOALS FOR THE BOMBERS SINCE 2010

Kyle Reimers – 8.2 against Gold Coast, R6, 2011

Jake Carlisle – 8.2 against Western Bulldogs, R18, 2014

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti – 7.1 against Brisbane Lions, R4, 2019

Peter Wright – 7.0 against Western Bulldogs, R21, 2021