Australian Football

Roy McKay was a tough, durable utility who impressed with VFA side Williamstown during the late 1920s, attracting the attention of Footscray. The league club signed him in 1930, and he went on to provide consistently reliable service, mainly in the backlines, in 101 VFL games over six seasons. He also played interstate football for the VFL twice.

In 1936 McKay returned to the VFA as captain-coach of Brunswick, and immediately transformed the club into a force for the first time in a decade. A third place finish in 1936 was followed by three successive Grand Final appearances, resulting in a two-point loss to Prahran in 1937, victory by 33 points against Brighton in 1938, and defeat at the hands of Williamstown by nine points in 1939. In the victorious 1938 match, Roy McKay, playing at centre half forward, was one of the best players afield as the Magpies racked up a then record tally for a VFA Grand Final of 19.17 (131). McKay's last season with Brunswick, and indeed in top level football, was 1940, when he failed to get the team into the finals for the only time during his five year stint in charge.

Author - John Devaney