The lesson from the AFL and the Conor McKenna test case

THERE is one story of an Irishman abroad that came with a sting in the tail.

Tyrone native and AFL import Conor McKenna found himself at the eye of a public storm when he became the first player in the league to test positive for Covid-19 just over a fortnight ago, prompting the postponement of the game between his club Essendon and Melbourne, and the AFL to scramble and alter their guidelines for training.

Then came a level of confusion amidst reports of a possible false positive when McKenna showed no symptoms and subsequently tested negative in the days that followed, the complicating factor being he reportedly broke quarantine restrictions and the league’s strict return to play protocols. Has that case been fully resolved? ’In the end, it seemed to be positive,’ says Jack Anderson. ‘What is always interesting about professional players, their health isn’t private. Conor McKenna’s health situation for the week in question was a front page story in Melbourne. And the twist and turn about was it a false positive or false negative, did he get it in Northern Ireland – the level of analysis was unbelievable.

‘I think it was Catherine Murphy, who is Irish and works with ABC, who said at one stage, “nobody ever asked Conor how he was”. ‘That’s an important point. They are professional players; there is a lot at stake commercially. But their health is paramount.

‘I think that’s one thing we have to recognise in all sport. And it’s just a game of ball.’

Are there lessons there for the GAA in terms of player privacy with the very public and uncomfortable nature of the process, for the player himself?

‘All sports know this: the issue wasn’t so much about just

Conor McKenna. It was also who was he in contact with? Where was it transmitted? How many players then do we put into a lockdown situation?

‘Because they train in groups of nine or 10, do all those players then go into quarantine?

‘Essendon had a game at the weekend so would they have to play without those 10 players? Could they manage that? Suddenly, it became very, very difficult to manage.

‘As it happens, they did the tracing. They had everything done. Only one other person had to stand aside and Essendon could play.’

So could Anderson see a version of same happening at home, at club or county level?

‘You could easily see this happening, and it’s one of the contingencies the GAA will have to run through. If someone tests positive, what happens then? And it’s maybe that a team will have to step aside. Maybe.’