By Peter Ryan and Jon Pierik
Former AFL star Corey McKernan has taken aim at Essendon’s supporters, after they appeared to turn on one of their own during Thursday night’s breakout win over Port Adelaide.
Ben McKay had a mixed night at Marvel Stadium, for he was outpointed by Power key forward Mitch Georgiades, who booted the opening goal of the match, before a cheer reverberated around the ground when he later marked deep in defence to even up the battle.
Bombers defender Ben McKay chalked up the 20th win of his career after a tough week. Credit: Getty Images
It was an uncomfortable sound during the Bombers’ 12-point win – 9.18 (72) to 8.12 (60) – as it was unclear whether the noise was meant as encouragement to a defender who had been below his best in the previous two matches or a Bronx cheer designed to mock.
Whatever its intent, the sound had the potential to unsettle the key defender who had his hands full trying to stop Georgiades, at a time when his twin brother Harry was in the headlines for missing games with Carlton for personal reasons.
Corey McKernan in his playing days at Carlton.Credit: 2002
Those potential Bronx cheers continued through the game, prompting McKernan, a dual North Melbourne premiership player who later crossed to Carlton, to raise concerns about the potential impact on McKay’s mental health.
“I’ve only spoken about this when I’ve done my mental health chats for Walk With Me. Being booed is easy to deal with, Bronx cheers off your own fans is next level. Carlton fans Bronx cheering me against Essendon 2002, after the game left me in tears,” McKernan said on X.
“Believe it or not it was a tipping point, I was trying sooo hard and had no balance in my life and was all footy footy footy. You do feel like the world’s against you and having a positive word from anyone helps.
“[Carlton coach] Wayne Brittain’s words after training the next week changed the course of my year. He said: ‘They can burn the grandstand down, I won’t drop you.’ I didn’t want to let him down. So anyone connected with Ben get around him, as sometimes it’s just a few simple words.”
Essendon coach Brad Scott, who has shown his faith in McKay by vigorously defending him, did not think the noise was Bronx cheers but admitted he couldn’t know for sure.
What he said he did know for sure was that McKay would do a job for him and the team, so what others said should be the least of the player’s worries.
Essendon coach Brad Scott has great belief in Ben McKay’s capabilities.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“I didn’t think it was Bronx cheers. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but he was the leading intercept player on the ground for the most part of the game. I don’t know how it finished, but he was really, really important for us tonight,” Scott said.
“Ben McKay has got all the attributes of a really good key defender. He is a great size. He can play on all the big strong key defenders and the thing is with key defenders when you have breakdowns all around the ground defensively, usually it’s the last-line key defenders who get hung out to dry, and we hung them out to dry last week.”
That McKay’s name has become a central point of the discussion around the Bombers’ direction feels unfair to the coach as he explained that his improvement will come as their system – and commitment to the system – improves.
“If we can get going and keep improving our system, Ben McKay is a really important part of what we are doing, and I have great belief in his capability,” Scott said.
McKay’s improvement wasn’t the only source of hope for the Bombers. The injection of mid-season draft recruit Saad El-Hawli in the last quarter prompted an eruption among his clan in the stands when he pounced on the ball, sprinted through the middle, kicked forward and set up a game-turning goal to Nic Martin.
“Three-quarter time all the boys were encouraging me to take the game on because the opposition was tired. Once I got the ball I just put the jets on,” El-Hawli told Seven later. The 23-year-old is a devout Muslim whose debut came during Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.
“A shout-out to all the Muslims across the community and country, I know it’s the blessed month of Ramadan and thank you for all your support, thank you to the community back at home, and a shout-out to everyone who helped me along the journey.”
Martin’s goal reduced the margin to four points, and the Bombers continued to build through the effort of Zach Merrett, the energy of Isaac Kako and the strength of Sam Draper as a forward target.
Isaac Kako (left) and Saad El-Hawli get a Gatorade shower after the win.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“It was a great start to the fourth. Credit to Saady, he came on and gave us that burst of energy,” Kako said. “The boys tell me just to play my game and play with freedom.”
Draper’s habit of holding the ball as if on a tray of drinks at a cocktail party before snapping a set shot continues to catch the eye, but it was effective.
Although the skills made the game ordinary, with the ball moving as chaotically as a dodgem car, there was no questioning the Bombers’ commitment to defensive actions as the tackle count and territory battle shifted in Essendon’s favour.
With Port Adelaide’s ball movement interrupted, the inside 50s conceded was 44 rather than 65 as it had been five days earlier against Adelaide. The tackle count was in Essendon’s favour. And best-and-fairest winner Jordan Ridley joined McKay and young defender Zach Reid to help out when Georgiades looked like being the difference early in the match.
Dylan Shiel was an important player in the midfield.Credit: Getty Images
Ridley cooled the key forward momentarily, so McKay could get into a rhythm, and he began to play his role effectively, taking six marks while Reid took 10 and Ridley five. All of a sudden, the team which conceded 20 marks against the Crows conceded just 11 to the Power.
Another whipping boy, Dylan Shiel, was moved back into a more familiar midfield role after struggling in the defensive role he has been earmarked for in 2025. He redeemed his reputation with 25 touches and although his kicking wasn’t perfect, he got the ball heading in Essendon’s direction from stoppage, gaining a game-high 709 metres.
Scott said Elijah Tsatas’ injury meant Shiel was needed in the middle. The coach reminded the veteran what made him a quality midfielder. “For him to play at his best, he’s got to have at the forefront of his mind what he is doing when he is playing his best footy,” Scott said.
And he performed when needed to be among his team’s best as the midfield dominated contested ball to kick the final four goals of the match and win ugly.
“The players get a bit of reward for effort. It is hard to keep pounding in the same message and drilling the same drills and working on the same elements of the craft if you don’t get small wins along the way,” Scott said.
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley laid the defeat at the hands of the senior players who just did not perform at the standard they are capable of playing to change the result.
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