Young Bomber Mason Redman says he “bloody loved” being back in the senior side as Essendon ran rampant at the MCG to defeat Brisbane by 47 points on Saturday.

Redman broke into the AFL line-up in 2018 for two impressive efforts midway through the season, but luck was not on his side.

Injuries to his ankle, knee and then ankle again tested the perseverance of the 21-year-old heading into this year, but he continued to work tirelessly in adversity to earn his spot back in the senior side.

“It’s good to be back, a lot of hard work went into getting back on the park,” Redman said post-game.

“We’ve got our season rolling now, so it was good to get a win and the boys were unreal.

“It’s awesome to get the reward, I just bloody loved being out there with the boys again, so (I will) just savour the moment and look forward to next week.”

Redman showed typical poise against the Lions on Saturday. His composure has become a key feature of his game and it was there to be seen throughout the game.

He played with both grunt and class in the impressive display, finishing with 17 disposals at 82.4 per cent efficiency as he held down the fort in defence and used his clean skills to drive the ball forward.

Redman said the support of experienced backmen Cale Hooker – who also returned to the team against the Lions – and Michael Hurley was crucial in helping him maintain a steady head.

“(My game) felt pretty good, the calming voices of Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley in the backline really helped as always, so hats off to them.

“They made me feel really welcome in my first game back this year, so hopefully that’s the start of things to come.”

Brisbane took plenty of momentum into the match off the back of three comeback victories to start the year, which had the emerging team leading the league for points scored per game.

But the Bombers refused to let the Lions work into the match, booting 11 goals in the first half and keeping their opponents to just three majors at the main break.

While Brisbane fought its way back into the contest in the second half, the Dons once again held strong.

Redman said he was confident the focused Bombers could perform well without worrying about the previously unbeaten Lions’ incoming form.  

“I feel as though we’ve been building as the season’s gone on, we didn’t worry too much about what Brisbane had done coming into the game.

“We just focused on what we needed to do and that was come out and play our way for four quarters – we managed to do that and get the job done.

“We’ll back ourselves in every day. The leadership out there from the older boys was really good and we were able to steady the ship.”

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was the star of the show at the MCG, booting a career-high seven goals in a spectacular performance. 

McDonald-Tipungwuti’s effort was one of the best individual games from a small forward in recent memory, and Redman described his teammate as a “magician”.

“Hats off to Anthony for kicking seven goals, it’s a bloody unreal effort.

“He’s an absolute magician, it’s a pleasure to run out next to him when I get the chance and hopefully it’s many more times.”

Attention now turns to next week, when Essendon will take on North Melbourne in the Kick for the Kids game next Friday.