Horrible handling: Why Cornes has Dons coach Scott firmly in the gun

Kane Cornes has Essendon coach Brad Scott firmly in the gun due to his handling of Ben McKay in 2026.

McKay has been horribly out of form this season for the Dons, resulting in plenty of criticism due to the six-year, $5 million contract he signed to join the club ahead of the 2024 season.

Scott came to the defence of his player last week, describing him as an easy target due to that contract, adding that it’s ‘bordering on lazy’ for talking heads to keep pointing out his performance issues.

“Easy target, and we're an easy target when you put it out a performance like that,” Scott told reporters.

“Every player in the competition has "confidence issues" at various stages of their career.

“Is he just feeling great about himself? Probably not. But does that matter? Should that impact your performance? No.

“It's an easy target. The ability to individualise outside and externally, I reckon, is easy, bordering on lazy.”

Now, having dropped McKay for the club’s Round 9 clash against GWS, Cornes called out Scott for how the coach has managed his defender this season.

“That was Brad only a week or so ago on the criticism that was put to him of Ben McKay,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“The sentence there ‘bordering on lazy’ was the one that he's in the gun for, because a week later, he's now dropped.

“What have you been watching? You always want to defend your player, clearly, but to say the criticism's been bordering on lazy…

“I'm a Brad fan, but to then drop him a week later, you have nothing but to be put squarely in the gun for the way that you've handled him all year, really.

“We've all watched him. We've all seen that he's completely out of sorts since the first game of the season, and finally they've made the call, which is the right one, but probably about six weeks too late.”

Now heading back to the VFL, Cornes hopes McKay can regain some type of form, but he first thinks Scott must own up to putting his player in a sticky situation.

“I don't know if you can (recover) on this issue,” Cornes said.

“I think this is just one where you just have to put your hand up and say, ‘I completely butchered this one. I've absolutely butchered the management of this player, Ben McKay’.

“How we recover from this until the end of 2029 remains to be seen.

“I hope he can go back to the VFL and compete. Is it a different role? I don't know. But he needs to compete better than he has.

“I’m not sure when he comes back, but it’s a long time, 2029, for this contract to play out.”

McKay is set to play for the VFL Bombers when they meet the Giants at Tom Wills Oval in Sydney on Sunday morning.