McKay Was Scoring 73 in Round 1. The Registry Called Sell in Round 6. The 25% Still Holding Are Too Late.
The community split 65/25 on trading McKay after his Round 9 drop. The registry has been calling sell since Round 6. Here's the data trail that settles it.
McKay Was Scoring 73 in Round 1. The Registry Called Sell in Round 6. The 25% Still Holding Are Too Late.
The VFL circuit-breaker argument is sound. It just doesn't apply to the player Ben McKay has been since Round 6.
When Ben McKay was dropped for Round 9, the community split predictably: 65% said trade out, 25% said hold and watch the VFL reset do its work. The 25% aren't wrong about the mechanism — a VFL stint can reset confidence and earn a recall within a fortnight. They're wrong about where McKay's problem started.
The registry called sell in Round 6. Not Round 9. Round 6.
The Two Stances
Trade out (65%): McKay scored 23 in Round 8 in a 64-point loss to Brisbane, then got dropped for Round 9. His last three scores read 51, 42, 23. The community thread was unambiguous post-Round 7 — "scared with the ball," calls to drop him, visible decline in body-on-body contests. Price stalled at $238.6k with a 35 BE. The form case for holding is gone.
Hold for VFL recall (25%): McKay scored 87 in Round 5 — his season best — proving the ceiling exists. The drop is a confidence reset, not a death sentence. Essendon's backline lacks depth; he could be back within 1–2 rounds if he dominates in the VFL. Sell-low risk is real on a player who's shown he can score.
What the Registry Saw — and When It Saw It
The registry issued a sell verdict in Round 6. That's two rounds before the drop and one round before the community narrative fully turned. The signal was community intel flagging "scared with the ball" post-Round 7 (high confidence), combined with a price that had stalled despite a 37 BE that should have been generating cash.
Round 7's hold verdict was a context call. McKay scored 51 in Essendon's 77-point Anzac Day hammering by Collingwood — a score produced in a game that was over by halftime. That's noise, not signal.
Round 8 confirmed the thesis: 23 points, dropped for Round 9, $238.6k and bleeding.
The trajectory from Round 6 onward: 42, 51, 23. Average across those three rounds: 38.7. His 35 BE means he was barely generating cash across that stretch even when he played.
The R1 Version Isn't Coming Back This Season
The 25% holding McKay are waiting for the Round 1 player — 73 points, $250k, "smash-select lock," elite cash cow credentials. That player earned his buy verdict and the ownership he got.
The Round 8 player scored 23 in a blowout loss and got dropped. The Round 5 87-pointer that gave the hold camp hope is now looking like an outlier — one score in a run of 44, 38, 87, 42, 51, 23.
The VFL will tell you something in 1–2 rounds. But every week you hold costs you a spot in your team and real price decay at $238.6k. The registry said sell in Round 6 because the trend was already written. Round 9's drop was the confirmation.
The Call
Trade him out. The 25% are correct that McKay has a ceiling — he showed it in Round 5. The problem is the ceiling has a very specific prerequisite: a functioning Essendon backline structure that currently does not exist.
The data is settled. The registry was right in Round 6 and the community caught up in Round 9.
Updated: 24 May 2026. Data sourced from RookieBible intel registry.
Check the full McKay intel on his player page. Pre-briefed. Opinionated. The more you challenge it, the sharper it gets.
Thursday night rookie intel. Free.
Team announcements, late outs, and the definitive rookie reliability update every Thursday night before lockout.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Related articles
Blake Acres Missed 10 Rounds. He Just Scored 108. His Price Hasn't Moved.
Acres was a preseason buy pick who didn't play until Round 12. He's been $377.7k for months. Then 108 in a Carlton road win — the registry just called buy.
Read article →The Registry Called Sell on Brayden Cook Five Times. It Just Called Buy.
The registry called sell on Cook for five straight rounds. His price barely moved. Then he scored 70 in a 1-point thriller and the call flipped.
Read article →He Was Averaging 137. He Scored 41 in Round 13. The Registry Called Sell. Here's the Pattern It Saw.
A 137-average mid in a Sydney side that was winning. Round 13: 41. 29 below BE. Ownership at 0%. The community logic says you don't sell on one bad game. The registry disagreed. Here's why.
Read article →