Winning not everything for Bombers' Worsfold Australian football Bombers1.13.8 (95) Blues1.3.8 (35) Daniel Cherny Bomber Shaun Edwards in action against Carlton on Sunday. 
Essendon coach John Worsfold said his team could have lost on Sunday and still "started on the right foot" but agreed a 10-goal win made things all the better.
Only 1 months on from the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision that decimated their club, the hastily pulled-together Bombers began their NAB Challenge with a 60-point win at Ikon Park over a Carlton side that was without most of its first-choice midfield.
Speaking after the match, Worsfold said it had been a positive day for the makeshift Dons, but the result was a secondary consideration at this time of the year. "It's always nice to win, but we did see a lot of good things, and the players talking to each other," he said.
"I believe we could have started on the right foot - win or lose. Today was about a big hit- out, building on what we've been doing the last couple of weeks in terms of workload. There were still plenty of areas we know we have to be sharper at, but for our first hit-out against an opposition, really pleased with that."
The West Coast premiership coach said his team had entered the game stronger on paper given Carlton were missing Marc Murphy, Patrick Cripps, Bryce Gibbs, Andrew Walker, Sam Kerridge and Dale Thomas. But that didn't mean he expected to emerge victorious. "You never have any feel for what's going to happen in the game, but we did know that they had a very young midfield in specifically and we had a pretty good side in terms of our availability of players.
"With youth versus the experience we had in, you think Essendon should win the game, but we had a lot of players that don't know each other that well."
Worsfold noted the "intense work" of Irishman Connor McKenna and the robust showing of ruckman Sam Michael - one of four top-up players who took to the field on Sunday. Ryan Crowley, Sam Grimley and Jonathan Simpkin all impressed, even if Grimley's kicking for goal left something to be desired.
Crowley rotated through the midfield and forward line, with Worsfold saying that was likely to continue indefinitely. Of the other top-ups, Worsfold said Matt Dea and Mark Jamar were likely to return for Saturday's game against Geelong in Shepparton.
James Polkinghorne is unavailable for the remainder of the pre- season with a calf niggle.
AT A GLANCE ESSENDON 0.1.3 1.7.3 1.10.5 1.13.8 (95) CARLTON 0.1.1 0.1.2 1.3.4 1.3.8 (35) Nine pointers: Essendon: Z Merrett. Carlton: E Curnow. Goals: Essendon: B Goddard 3 J Daniher 3 C Dempsey J Long J Merrett R Crowley S Grimley S McKernan W Hams. Carlton: A Gallucci C Smith H McKay. Best: Essendon: D Zaharakis B Goddard D Parish M Gleeson Z Merrett. Carlton: N Graham J Weitering. Venue: Ikon Park.