'We hung them out to dry': Brad Scott defends Ben McKay following Bomber-fan 'Bronx cheers'

Essendon coach Brad Scott has stepped in to defend star Ben McKay, who was on the receiving end of Bronx cheers from his own supporter base on Thursday night.

The key defender has had a tough start to the season and Bomber fans opted to let him know about it during the side's win over Port Adelaide, giving the ironic cheers with every mark he took.

The criticism comes on the back of McKay's signing with the Dons in 2024 and the reported $1.4 million he was paid in the first year of his contract, making him one of, if not the, highest paid player in footy last year.

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McKay had a strong performance in the win over the Power, and Scott was quick to defend the 27-year-old.

"That was funny, that, I didn't think it was Bronx cheers and maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but he was the leading intercept defender on the ground for the most part of the game. He was really, really important for us tonight," Scott said in his post-match press conference.

"Ben McKay has all the attributes of a really good key defender. He's got great size, he's big and strong, he can play on all the key forwards.

"And the thing is with key defenders, when you have breakdowns all over the ground defensively, it's usually the last line key defenders that get hung out to dry. And we hung them out to dry last week.

"If we can't keep improving our system, Ben McKay's a really important part of what we're doing and I have great belief in his capability."

Scott was proud of how his side rebounded from their 60-point loss to the Bombers, particularly given the five-day turnaround.

"Our key defenders had a really tough week last week and I thought they were outstanding tonight," he said.

"The criticism was warranted because the opposition kicked 160 points last week.

"I'm not interested in answering to the criticism, I focus on the facts whether you win, lose or draw and what we've got to work on.

"The most pleasing thing is when you have a disappointing performance, you get to choose how you respond to it. You can capitulate or you can respond and I think that's a good measure of character."

The Bombers now enter a bye weekend, allowing them to regroup before facing Melbourne in Adelaide as part of the AFL's Gather Round.