The Gold Coast coach had been heavily criticised after poor performances against Adelaide and St Kilda in the opening two rounds, and wanted his players to get back to basics against the Bombers.
They did just that, finishing in front in the tackle count 71-67 and the clearances 41-36 to win two key areas.
Despite surrendering a seven-point lead at the final change to lose by 17 points, McKenna was a content coach post-match.
He said it was a performance that showed the Suns could mix it at AFL level.
"That was pleasing for the boys," McKenna said.
"A lot's been said about their intent, their desire and all those things and it's really good for the boys to ... realise the muscle we've been using the least of is the one between the ears - the brain - and they engaged that tonight and really got value for effort.
"Once the boys got the appetite to get in and roll up their sleeves, we got some composure out of those contested situations and got some score on the board."
After trailing by more than four goals in the first quarter, Gold Coast rallied to lead by as much as 13 points late in the third quarter before fading in the last.
McKenna said the toll of such a huge effort through the middle two quarters cost them in the home straight.
Captain Gary Ablett was again head and shoulders above everyone on the field with 44 disposals and two goals, while Karmichael Hunt had nine of his 16 touches in the second term to help swing momentum.
McKenna agreed it was Hunt's best game as a Sun, but said he still had plenty to work on.
"He really cracked in," McKenna said.
"He can still get better and we spoke to him about that after the game. He probably missed out on five or 10 other possessions where he went to ground rather than keeping his feet and hitting through a contest.
"He's really enjoying the heavy lifting in there (midfield), he's designed for it and he loves it. I reckon a lot of times we went forward was on the back of his contested ball and his ability to stay composed with that ball."
McKenna said he hoped the performance would be a springboard for next week's clash against the Brisbane Lions.
"Hopefully it gives the boys some wind in their sails and get their tails up a bit.
"Our biggest challenge will be going into the QClash making sure we can compete. There's nothing worse than two quarters of reasonable footy tonight, we should be aiming for three quarters or four quarters. We need to build on what we started tonight."
Michael Whiting covers Gold Coast news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
