Being hung out to dry in Australia could convince McKenna to come home
“A radio station said he should be banned”
BACK in November, when the world was a little different, Conor McKenna gave Tyrone supporters a glimpse of what they were missing. Home from Australia for a few weeks, the former under-age star lined out for his home club, Eglish, helping them retain Division One league status by scoring a crucial goal in their relegation play-off against Edendork.
It caused ructions in Melbourne, with Essendon claiming they were ‘disappointed’ that their young star had played competitive Gaelic football.
In Tyrone, they were hoping that small taste would convince McKenna that he should come back and be a vital cog in their attempts to win an All-Ireland.
McKenna returned to Melbourne, though, where he has admitted to struggling with homesickness in the past. One wonders how the saga of the past few days – and his treatment by sections of the Australian media – will affect his plans to remain in Australia.
It was revealed yesterday that the 24-year-old had tested negative for coronavirus, only three days after his positive test had rocked Essendon – and the AFL – to its core and saw the postponement of last weekend’s game against Melbourne Demons, as well as team-mate James Stewart also going into quarantine for having close contact with McKenna during training.
It has yet to be confirmed what this latest development means, with the AFL saying it was a matter for Australia’s Department of Health officials as to whether McKenna can end his self-isolation and even play for Essendon against Carlton this weekend. However, there is no doubt that there are a few people in Australia who owe the Tyrone man an apology.
Following his positive test, it subsequently emerged that McKenna had gone to view a number of houses to rent on the previous Wednesday. Even though this was within club and AFL protocols, he was painted as a villain in some quarters and there were even hysterical calls for him to be thrown out of the league for placing the whole season in jeopardy.
Nicolas Walsh, the former AFL player from Cavan who now works as a mental health manager for the league, insists that nobody should lose sight of the fact that there’s a young player at the centre of this.
‘There were a couple of media organisations that weren’t great,’ Walsh said. ‘A radio station in Sydney who said he should never be allowed to play AFL again. But there was a lot in the media who treated it with care and compassion. It was tough for Conor, it’s a horrible thing to test positive for this virus.
‘And there were others, saying he doesn’t want to be here, because he went back to Tyrone when the pandemic hit. But if he didn’t want to be here, he would have stayed at home.
‘It’s well documented that he has struggled with a bout of homesickness, but Essendon have helped him deal with it and Conor will vouch for that. They set him up coaching a local GAA club here in Melbourne, just to get him more involved in the Irish community.’
McKenna has been living with his brother Ryan and his partner in Melbourne, in an effort to feel more settled but despite the homesickness, his talent has shone through. Last year, he was considered one of their best players, a shining light in the halfback line.
‘He has quite a lot of support from Essendon, they consider him to be among the top five players at the club and a lot of their game is based around his speed in the half-back line,’ Walsh points out. ‘So, the club definitely see a big future for him.’
Whether McKenna envisages that future in Australia now remains to be seen. As former AFL player, Westmeath’s Ray Connellan, claimed on twitter yesterday, the whole thing has been a shambles and led to McKenna being ‘abused by every footy fan in Australia.’
The Tyrone native has been one of the most successful imports in the AFL’s Irish experiment over the past few years and Walsh believes that he is in the top four or five Irish players to play the game. But his time hasn’t been without its issues.
Two years ago, he was suspended for three weeks when he was caught biting Western Bulldogs forward Tory Dickson during a scuffle. However, he put that setback behind him to be everpresent for Essendon last year.
All in all, he has played 73 times for the Bombers since making his debut in 2015. But as he said in an interview last year, the lure of Gaelic football and Croke Park is always there.
‘I’ve always had the idea I’d like to return home to Eglish and, if good enough, for Tyrone. It’s been five-and-a-half years now and I always think about the opportunity to come back.’
What has happened in the past few days may make McKenna think a little harder about coming back, which would only be good news for Tyrone football.
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