Opinion
The moon landing was fake, the earth is flat, shape shifting lizard people run the world, these conspiracy theories have nothing on a story that has divided the AFL for close to a decade.
As Carlton take on North Melbourne tonight at Marvel Stadium, the absence of one player will reignite a debate between pundits and spectators alike.
As Ben McKay remains injured for Round 4, it’ll be yet another time that he fails to play his identical twin brother in an AFL match, adding fuel to the fire that they are in fact, the same person.
The conspiracy started back in 2015 when Harry and Ben were both drafted into their current teams. It took a while for the twins to debut for their respective clubs, missing the opportunity to play each other in their first two seasons in the AFL.
Harry locked himself in as a regular for Carlton in 2018, but he was only called up after a loss to North Melbourne and in 2019 when he played North for the first time, Ben was yet to break into the line-up.
Ben McKay of the Kangaroos celebrates a goal. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The conspiracy really heated up in 2020 when the brothers looked destined to meet for the first time. Harry and Ben were both named in the line-ups going into the clash, but at the last possible minute, Harry was replaced by an emergency sub due to “knee soreness.”
It was the first in a string of, out-of-nowhere injuries that seemed to plague Harry anytime he was playing the Kangaroos. In 2021 it was a toe injury and in 2022 it was a double whammy with both Harry and Ben out with a respective injury and suspension.
This year Ben has taken one for team conspiracy as he’s out with a knee issue again.
By this stage it seems certain that the universe, or some other force, wants to keep these twins apart, either that or they’re one and the same person. It’s physically impossible pick the twins apart, you could easily switch their guernseys and no one would bat an eyelid, so it is possible if not plausible.
As is the case with all the best conspiracies, the media has perpetuated the rumour and Triple M’s Billy Brownless is a main proponent. Last year he got the McKay twins’ mother, Tracey McKay, on his show, where she revealed Brownless has convinced her youngest son, Charlie, that the theory is true (all be it before she vowed that her twins were definitely two people, but surely she’d be in on it).
Other notable evidence for the conspiracy’s viability includes a social media post with Harry wearing a Carlton Jersey with Ben’s number 23 on it and a “Ben and Harry Podcast” which they supposedly recorded ‘together’, where their voices are indistinguishable.
Never mind the countless photos of them as kids, or at the AFL draft in 2015 or countless interviews together after, they’re all photoshopped or use an impersonator, according to the conspiracists.
Even if the twins do manage to face off one year, will it be enough for the most die-hard believers to let the conspiracy go or will it be the beginning of a much deeper conspiracy?
Could Harry/Ben be the missing link between all conspiracy theories? Are they really a moon landing faking, flat earth concealing lizard person also managing to play for two AFL teams simultaneously? Only time will tell.
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