Ben Rutten says Essendon's unrelenting effort over four quarters against St Kilda was the most pleasing aspect of his first win as senior coach.

The Bombers came firing out of the blocks and never surrendered their momentum, extending their lead in each quarter to set up a rousing 75-point victory at Marvel Stadium.

"I thought our ability to stick to the way we want to play for the majority of the game was really pleasing," Rutten said.

"Tonight’s performance was a reflection of our pre-season and last three weeks as well. We’re building and running a program to be a really good, consistent team. The scoreboard is always the last thing to catch up, but that’s a great reward for the players tonight for the effort they’ve put in the last few weeks."

Despite having 117 more disposals, the Bombers smashed the Saints in tackles (54-32) in a clear sign of their intent.

One of the highlights was Darcy Parish's goal-saving tackle on Seb Ross in the final minutes of the game.

"Darcy Parish was another (example) late there to just grind," Rutten said.

"It wasn’t going to determine the match, but that’s another great example of the discipline I was talking about.

"We’ve been working really hard on playing more of a disciplined brand of footy. The guys want to play our way and do it for as long as possible."

The Bombers' win was soured by a hamstring injury to in-form defender Mason Redman, with Rutten confident it wasn't major.

“Redman had a slight hamstring. I don’t think he’s ever done one before. He played the second quarter with it, so hopefully that’s a good sign that it’s not a significant one. It may just be some tightness,” he said.

Captain Dyson Heppell may be available to return from a back complaint next Thursday against a rampant Sydney.

“Heppell trained today. He’ll do a bit more footy stuff tomorrow. He’s on the mend, but it’s too early to call if he’ll play. The signs are looking good. We’re really hopeful we’ll get him back,” Rutten said.

Bombers fans would have been excited about how their crop of young guns played, with the club fielding its most inexperienced side since round 22, 2010.

Rutten shared that sentiment, not putting a ceiling on 200cm wingman Nik Cox in particular.

“We weren’t sure what we were going to get from (Archie) Perkins and (Alec) Waterman in particular,” Rutten said.

“We’re not sure what we’re going to get from Cox still. We’ve seen him in a couple of games, but I don’t think any of us know what he’s capable of doing.”

The Bombers will have a short break before facing an undefeated Sydney at the SCG on Thursday night.