St Kilda has celebrated its 150th anniversary in style and maintained an unbeaten start to the season with a tough 18-point win over Essendon.

Jack Higgins and Dan Butler kicked four goals each for the Saints, whose blistering opening and stifling defence were features of the 14.8 (92) to 11.8 (74) victory at the MCG.

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But there were some nervous moments in the final term when the Bombers drew level - having trailed by 34 points early in the match - before St Kilda steadied with a five-goal burst to put the result to bed.

It improved the Saints' record to 3-0 under returned coach Ross Lyon this season, while Brad Scott was dealt his first loss in charge of Essendon.

Tony Lockett, Ian Stewart, Ross Smith, Barry Breen and Nicky Winmar were among the St Kilda greats on hand to help celebrate the club's milestone, part of a 69,255-strong crowd.

The faithful who turned up got their money's worth as witnesses to a rollercoaster ride of a contest.

St Kilda's opening two goals were gifts from 50m penalties against Mason Redman and they had the first five majors on the board before time-on in the first term.

Late to the party, Essendon trailed by 27 points at quarter-time.

Momentum swung around the contest when the Bombers lifted their intensity, with Will Setterfield setting an example.

Essendon moved Kyle Langford forward at the final change and kicked the first three goals of the final term.

A pair of Jye Caldwell snaps came either side of Langford's toe-poke on the line.

But Higgins and Jade Gresham provided quick replies for the Saints, who booted five successive goals as they kicked into party mode.

Brad Crouch (31 disposals), Jack Sinclair (26), Mason Wood (27), Seb Ross (24) and Gresham (23) were all strong contributors.

Nic Martin (27 disposals) was among the Bombers' best and Darcy Parish racked up 34 touches, with Caldwell and Archie Perkins kicking two goals each.

Jordan Ridley and Jake Kelly were solid in defence but explosive forward Jake Stringer had little impact on return from injury, kicking one goal from eight disposals.

As part of their 150th celebrations, St Kilda inducted former star players Leigh Montagga and Nick Dal Santo into the club's Hall of Fame.

Champion full-forward Bill Mohr was posthumously elevated to Saints 'Legend' status.

Can these Saints get to football heaven?
Saturday night's clash was the pinnacle of a week celebrating St Kilda's 150th anniversary. Club greats including Nicky Winmar, Tony Lockett and Neil Roberts lined up on the ground before the first bounce, and recent alumni Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo were honoured as new inductees to the Saints' Hall of Fame. So often a big night can carry too much pressure for the team that takes the field and things can go horribly wrong on the night, but Ross Lyon's side was well and truly up for the occasion. The win gives St Kilda its first 3-0 start to a season since 2010, a year where they came so close to winning a premiership. Could this side be the one to go that one step further and deliver a second flag to Moorabbin?

Bombers' big hole up forward
When Peter Wright was injured on the eve of round one it looked dire for the Bombers' scoring ability, yet they started 2-0 on the back of a pair of 100+ scores with goals coming from everywhere. However, against the Saints holes started to appear. Essendon still found avenues to score through, but the lack of a reliable structure showed. Sam Weideman was a contributor but didn't trouble the scorers. Jake Stringer kicked one from limited input in his first game of the year and Harry Jones was subbed out without a major to his name. While predictability can be the enemy of a dynamic attack, a reliable target can be the foundation that the best forward lines are built on. The Bombers need someone to stand up - and that's all they have to do - and they need them to do it soon.

ST KILDA       5.4    7.5    9.7    14.8 (92)
ESSENDON     1.1    4.5    6.6    11.8 (74)
 
GOALS 
St Kilda: Higgins 4, Butler 4, Wood, Owens, Caminiti, Gresham, Windhager, Hill
Essendon: Perkins 2, Caldwell 2, Shiel 2, Langford, Stringer, Menzie, Martin, Parish

BEST 
St Kilda: Wood, Wilkie, Marshall, Ross, Crouch, Higgins
Essendon: Kelly, Ridley, Parish, Merrett, Shiel, Martin

INJURIES 
St Kilda: Webster (head), Ross (head)
Essendon: Davey (head)
 
SUBSTITUTES 
St Kilda: Ben Paton (replaced Zaine Cordy in the third quarter)
Essendon: Nick Hind (replaced Harrison Jones in the third quarter)
 
Crowd: 69,255 at the MCG