Essendon Bomber defender Ben McKay hits back at Matthew Lloyd’s criticism as unwanted record looms
Their failure to win a final since 2004 and a flag since 2000 prompted Richmond’s triple premiership Jack Riewoldt to suggest on Fox Footy that they were no longer among the traditional four Victorian powerhouse clubs with Carlton, Collingwood and the Tigers.
McKay said Riewoldt’s comments were ignorant but a warning.
“We’re actually a big club, so I’m not sure what Jack was talking about there. Look at the weekend, there were 75,000, 80,000 people.” [attendance] There. Our history is our history; We are very proud of this. You know, our turnout is amazing,” McKay said.
The Bombers, Magpies and Blues have won 16 VFL-AFL premierships each; this is a league record.
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But McKay said the Bombers still have work to do to become relevant again when it comes to on-field results, as club officials noted in this byline.
“Yes, we want to be in the spotlight again in terms of on-field performance. And that’s the biggest selling point, right? Winning games. So I can understand [Riewoldt’s comments] from that perspective,” McKay said.
“We’re aware that when we win games, when we win finals, there’s going to be even more noise around us, in a good way. So in that respect, it’s something we strive for… but I think we’re clearly a big four club. I think it’s a bit of ignorance, yeah.”
Heading into Sunday’s clash, Scott is under pressure to find a defensive system with the likes of Mason Redman, captain Andrew McGrath, Zach Reid and McKay as pillars.
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While there are extenuating circumstances, including youth, as Scott points out, the Bombers have taken a combined 49 points from their defensive 50 in their last two home and away games; 26 points against Gold Coast and 24 against the Hawks in round 24 last year.
This is the third-worst stretch of any team in the last five years.
“I think it’s up to us old guys to lead the way, though. I mean, we can’t rely on the younger guys just because they’re highly selected. And we’ve made it pretty clear in the last few days that the leadership group and us old guys have to lead the way for them,” McKay said.
The Bombers are confident that dynamic small forward Isaac Kako (hamstring) will be ready to face Power.
