Dustin Fletcher turns 39 on Wednesday but his value to Essendon is as strong as ever - in fact it might be increasing.

The Bombers encouraged Fletcher to be more attacking against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night and he obliged.

As Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall noted on Fox Footy's On the Couch on Monday night, the kick-in has become one of the most critical roles in the game.

And Fletcher is one player who thrives when given that responsibility.

The Bombers have generated a league-high 18.8 per cent of scoring chains from kick-ins this season and Fletcher is an essential part of that.

Of his 36 kick-ins this season, 15 have led to forward 50 entries and eight have generated a scoring chance for his team.

That is good enough to rank the Bomber veteran No. 2 in the competition in those categories, behind only Port Adelaide's Matthew Broadbent.

"He's got a licence to back himself and make good decisions, which he's done for longer than all of us put together," Essendon's backline coach Matt Egan said.

Even though Fletcher has achieved success in that area this year, Egan admits the Bombers urged him to take the game on more on Saturday night.

"Last year our kick-in strategy, for Fletch, was to go as quick as he could and take whatever option he saw," Egan said.

"(But) we felt like he'd gone a bit safer with the ball this year.

"So we wanted him to start backing his leg and taking longer options, as well as hitting the corridor when he could."

With teams setting up their defensive zones sometimes even before a goal or behind is registered from a set shot, Fletcher's ability to hit the right option can't be underestimated.

As Egan notes, Fletcher's ability to change the types of kick he employs – long and straight, low and hard, or even a torpedo - creates so many more exit strategy possibilities.

"Teams are making the field so small in defence that there's only a few little targets that you can see, and he seems to be able to pick them off most of the time," Egan said.

"So I hope he goes for a few more years, because we need him."

As the 384-game champion celebrates his 39th birthday, he is now ranked as the sixth oldest player to ever play the game, having surpassed Carlton legend Craig Bradley earlier this year.

He is reading the play as well as ever and is still – as he showed against the Bulldogs – a damaging force for Essendon out of the backline.

"We did try quite a few things and in the end he had an opponent. But you're talking about an all-time great who just knew where to stand," Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney said of Fletcher's game on Tuesday afternoon.

Bombers coach Mark Thompson still marvels at Fletcher's ability.

"He's just an outstanding player, certainly for his age," Thompson said on Saturday night.

"I can't see him retiring soon."