The nickname ‘buckets’ has been quickly bestowed on Ben McKay by his new teammates at Essendon, and his club debut against Hawthorn on Saturday proved why.

McKay was a firm presence in the Bombers’ back six, with seven intercepts from his 10 disposals and three contested marks for the game up against the Hawks’ key forward pairing of Mitch Lewis and Mabior Chol.

The 24-point victory over Hawthorn marked a positive start to McKay’s life as a Bomber, particularly after half-time where the 26-year-old felt the side’s defensive unit began to click.

With defensive partner Zach Reid subbed out of the contest at the main change, McKay shared key duties with Nik Cox to good effect as the Bombers got their transition game going.

For McKay, the side’s ability to run out the contest in hot conditions and stand up late were the key takeaways from his first club win.

“In the first half it was up and back, goal-for-goal, (but) we were able to wear them out nicely in the second half of the last quarter,” McKay said.

“It was a warm day out there, so to be able to grind out a nice win like that is an amazing feeling. The mids really stood up late so it’s an important win.”

Accurate kicking in front of goal proved the difference between the two sides at the main break, with McKay and the team defence still adapting to the Hawks’ forward mix.

The back six benefitted from the time to reset and restructure in the second half, restraining the Hawks in a five-goal-to-two final term.

“It was tough work. I said throughout the week, but I really I rate Mitch (Lewis) and Mabior (Chol) as a dynamic duo, and they had Jack Gunston there as well, so I really enjoyed the battle,” McKay said.

“We probably weren’t clicking amazingly (early), we were sitting back a bit and letting them run the footy at us, so in the second half we were able to come forward a bit and apply some forward pressure, which was really important. Sometimes you’ve got to win the tough way.

“I thought Nik Cox stood up really well, Mason Redman and Dyson Heppell as well, we speak about the ‘next man up’ and I thought we did that really well today. I had some good moments, had some moments I’d love back, but that’s footy.”

Saturday’s MCG crowd of 73,805 marked the biggest attendance McKay has played in front of during his 72-game career to date, providing a great first experience in front of the Bomber faithful.

With the Bombers looking ahead to a big matchup against quality opponents in Sydney at the SCG this Saturday, McKay is jumping at every opportunity for his new side to test out their credentials early in the 2024 campaign.

“(Round one was) the highest crowd I’ve ever played in front of, the previous best was 59,000 I think, so you can notice how loud the Bomber faithful is and it felt what you’d picture footy like as a little kid,” McKay said.

“(Sydney) are going really well at 2-0, I think not much changes (for us). Like we’ve said all along, the process is important, and we’ll go to work over the next two to three days.

“We’ve got to have our wits about us going up there, they’re a pretty strong contested team and if we bring our pressure, there’s no reason we can’t go with them.”