BRAD Scott has lamented his side's horrid start and put the heat on Essendon's more experienced players after Walyalup equalled a club record on Sunday.

The Dockers kicked three goals inside the first five minutes at the MCG and were 25 points up at quarter-time, and coach Scott was furious at the break.

BOMBERS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

The visitors stretched the lead to 52 at half-time and while Essendon eventually stopped the rot, outscoring the Dockers in the second half, the damage was done.

Fresh from last week's Telstra Rising Star nomination, Sullivan Robey shone again for Essendon in the gloom with two goals and six inside 50s.

Scott said the fact the club's first-year players like Robey and Dyson Sharp (who missed on Sunday due to a shoulder injury) have been leading the way at the contest reflected poorly on the more experienced members of his team. 

"I can reluctantly - not even accept - but reluctantly understand where we're not at the level we need to be in a lot of parts of the game," Scott said.

"But the contest is the non-negotiable part of it and that was just in the first quarter nowhere near where it needed to be.

"You shouldn't be, as a team, looking to your 18-year-olds to lead you out of that.

"The sky's the limit for where these guys can get to, but right now we need more support around our young players, which sounds a little bit back-to-front, doesn't it?

"Our contest (in the first quarter) was as poor as I've seen it. The way we started the game was just nowhere near the level it needs to be.

"We were a completely different-looking team in the second half in that space than where we were in the first.

"So it's not capability, it's the mindset to come out and compete against a very good team, which was just nowhere near the level in the first 30 minutes of the game."

Underscoring the challenge facing the rebuilding Bombers, the crowd of 25,100 marked only the second time since 1995 the club has attracted less than 30,000 to the MCG (not including COVID years), although the horrible weather would not have helped the crowd number.

Asked about the low crowd, Scott was vigorous in his defence of Essendon's rebuild.

"Our fans are incredible - it's a putrid day today," Scott said of the wet, cold and windy conditions.

"The last three years, they see the players we've brought in.

"Your fans want to come to the game to see their team win. But if you scratch one layer deeper, Blind Freddy can see what we're trying to do.

"It's frustrating in the short term, but we've tried to patch this together in the past - we're not doing that again."

Dockers coach Justin Longmuir had his own frustrations, given his side led by more than eight goals at half-time but won by 43 points.

He added there was no acknowledgement of equalling the club record nine games unbeaten, adding there was frustration among the players post-match.

"Give them (Essendon) the credit they deserve ... it's hard to control four quarters in modern-day football," he said.

"Where are we at? Round 10 - there's a long way to go. We're not the best team in the comp, we have work to do.

"Having said that, we've set our season up well. I'm proud of what we've done so far, absolutely, but there's plenty of work to do.

"I talked to the players pretty bluntly after the game. It is what it is. They were frustrated - when they show frustration, you probably need to give them the answers."