Gold Coast lifted itself to a 4-4 win-loss record with a 32-point victory over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, surpassing the three wins of both 2011 and 2012.
Aside from the Bulldogs, they have also beaten Melbourne, GWS and St Kilda.
With matches against top-two Hawthorn and Geelong in the coming fortnight, McKenna said the Suns had already made inroads in 2013.
"Based on where we finished last year you've got the lightweights, you've got the middleweights and you've got the heavyweights," he said.
"I think, based on results now, clearly we're in the lightweight division, but maybe we're coming out of that.
"We get to play one of the heavyweights and I think this test will be something for us. I think the boys are now better able to stand up and absorb that."
It was a mix of the old and the new against the Bulldogs with captain Gary Ablett again leading the way with a sublime 31 touches, but with plenty of help from his youthful teammates.
Jaeger O'Meara – who McKenna described as having the composure of a 100-game player – was a third-quarter spark, while defender Rory Thompson also left big imprints on the game.
The Suns’ coach said he could see his team maturing.
"The runners are not going out as much. I think they're now understanding the game and the pressure and can see the game coming to them and can choose the right decisions," McKenna said.
"I think there's a mental maturation. Clearly the physical one's evolved. We've got a massive step to go when we compete against Hawthorn and Geelong in the next two weeks.
"We can't do much about that, but certainly our mental maturation of understanding the game and when sides get run-ons, we're better able to absorb that.
"I think that was a good result but we're looking to Hawthorn next week and we know we've got to play a lot better than we did tonight."
