Essendon senior coach Brad Scott has praised his team's growing professionalism after a 50-point win against West Coast but conceded his team was far from perfect as it returned to the top eight.

The Bombers were forced to grind out an important win at Optus Stadium, soaking up the improved Eagles' pressure before kicking away late to seal their sixth win of the season.

Scott said it was a step forward for his team, which was guilty of under-estimating the Eagles last year, but the scrappy match was not one he'd be watching again for kicks.

"I thought it was professional and we were fully understanding of what we were walking into on this trip," Scott said. 

"I would have been more concerned today if we came out thinking that we're going to try and kick 150 points and just walk over a side that's struggling mainly due to injury.

"They are still a good side on their home ground, so I thought it was a professional performance. But certainly not one that I will be watching the replay for fun."

The Bombers addressed last year's 10-point loss to West Coast during the build-up this week and were focused on avoiding a similarly complacent performance.

"By the players own admission, they thought it was going to happen [last year] …  and there was a message today that we'll get what we deserve and if we think it's going to happen, we'll get embarrassed," Scott said.

"So for that part of it, I was really pleased and we had a tangible example of what happened here last year under similar circumstances.

"Zach (Merrett) has talked to the players a lot about how that's been a weakness for us in the past, and let's be honest, we haven’t been the best team in the comp over the last 10 years.

"So I don't think anyone has the right to think they can just turn up and get the result. But certainly not us. Every game is a hard game for us."