Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
AFL lit up by Tyrone ace Conor
AFL round-up
DUNGANNON’S Conor Mckenna scored one of the goals of the season as Essendon moved into the top eight of the AFL ladder following a 57-90 away win at Gold Coast Suns.
The former Tyone minor displayed every asset in his locker, showing deft ball control and speed to run half the length of the field before finishing with aplomb.
Mckenna finished with a match tally of 14 possessions (seven kicks and seven handballs) and three marks.
The penultimate round of the home and away season has confirmed that a logjam of teams are jockeying for top eight finals spots before the business end of the season in September.
Geelong took a giant stride towards securing a top four finish by defeating Collingwood 59-70 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Cats could even finish as high as second if they defeat second placed Greater Western Sydney next week.
Either way, Geelong will play two home finals and are unlikely to have to leave the state of Victoria on the road to the September 30 Grand Final.
Portlaoise defender Zach Tuohy continued his career best form by being named one of the Cats’ best on ground players for his match tally of 27 possessions (16 kicks and 11 possessions) and six marks.
Barring injury, Tuohy will definitely be playing finals football.
On Saturday, Carlton – with Louth’s Ciaran Byrne on board – ended a 12 year winless drought against Hawthorn when they defeated the Hawks 77-70.