CONOR MCKENNA HAS announced his immediate retirement from Aussie Rules after the most dramatic year of his short AFL career.
After 79 games with Essendon, the Tyrone native will return home, he says.
McKenna tested positive for Covid-19 in June, forcing the postponement of the Bombers’ clash with Melbourne and he found himself at the centre of an intense media storm.
“I do really feel the time is now right for me to return home to Ireland,” the Eglish St Patrick’s man said. “I’ve made no secret of the fact that at some point, I’d want to be returning home to my family and I’ve been weighing up the decision recently.
“It’s been a difficult year for everyone, but it’s also been a chance to take stock and weigh up several things in my life, so the time is right.
“I will always be grateful for Essendon’s support of both myself and my family since I arrived at the club from the other side of the world at the end of 2014.”
Tyrone are set to play Donegal on 31 October or 1 November in the Ulster SFC.
Really interesting insight, and it tallies with the outlook of some of the best coaches in world rugby. Graham Henry and Schmidt both focus on key skills and structure.
Is there a route in Ireland for a guy like this to get into top level coaching anymore? A lot of the top coaches from the last 15 or 20 years – Henry, Schmidt, Kidney – were teachers who didn’t actually play the game at the top level. Nowadays there seems to be more an emphasis on ex-players becoming coaches. What about giving people who actually know how to coach an opportunity?