Retired #45: Conor McKenna ☘️ - Returning to the AFL to play with Brisbane - 17/11

[Nifft]

Then he comes to us. We have more cap space than anyone

You'd have to be wary about front loading his contract though...

 

[The Donners]

You'd have to be wary about front loading his contract though...

So back end it?!

 

[astrowizzle]

id take him back no problems in a flash.
Thing that shits me is he left due to covid, broke a contract and there are already 3-4 other slimey clubs trying to lure him over. Reminds me of the vultures after the saga all trying to cash in.
Essendon took him, developed him and some shit stain club like geelong will end up with him.

 

[Chucks]

i wonder how he views the club? Who were his mates at essendon?
the small forward spot is wide open now

After bit of a social media stalk this morning on his Twitter...

I've noticed that the most recent post he 'liked' was our Essendon Twitter account congratulating him on winning the premiership In Ireland last year - and no, not because he hasn't been using Twitter since last year...

He'd been liking posts etc as recently as a few weeks ago, so he's been active on it this whole time. So presumably he's liked that Essendon tweet in the last few days... bit of a conspiracy theory here, but that seems a bit too coincidental? Almost as if he's putting the lure out to us?

A bit of a reach maybe, but odd timing all the same!

 

[astrowizzle]

Imagine the highlight reel of him and Draper together. Holy ****

 

[Bipolar Bear]

Dude is going to want money. Let's be honest.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Dude is going to want money. Let's be honest.

We can offer plenty is all I'm saying.

 

[Beerfish]

Thanks coterie groups.

You rock!

 

[Call Me Cake]

He'll be with us.

 

[yodellinhank]

Dude is going to want money. Let's be honest.

I wouldn't rule out that he also wants a shot at success. Went home to win, checked that off his list. Left because he wasn't enjoying it, more fun when you are winning. Think he had even toyed with the idea of coming back for finals?

 

[Lore]

Stalking back through this thread is interesting...

When he played as a midfielder in a scratch match at the end of 2020:

Player review: Scratch match v Geelong

All 11 players are assessed from Saturday's scratch match against Geelong.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Well that was unexpected

Defender, forward, midfielder... How long until he gets a go in the ruck?

The goodbye article and video, and then mentions he'd like to get to 100 AFL games one day...

McKenna says goodbye

Conor McKenna has called time on his AFL career, effective immediately.

www.essendonfc.com.au

just watched his farewell video



i think we could have done a lot better by him.

Article smashing the meedya on the way out:

Good read

Nice example used for the bottom feeders he's calling out:

View attachment 956591

Goodbye post on socials:

View attachment 963296

Love this clip on the way out

Some stuff he said about coming back for half a season if a team is going well... (probably didn't realise a mid-season draft means you don't get to pick which club you land at):

“I don’t think it’s totally done,” McKenna told reporters this week.

“There’s a thing in the AFL where you can get a mid-season draft so you can actually get drafted in June and go out from June until September. It’s only really a two or three-month thing.

“I do think the possibility may be there in three or four years with Gaelic, the way they’re talking about a split season.

“If Tyrone was out and the club was out of the championship and there was a possibility of going over (to the AFL) for two or three months, it’s not something I’d close the door on.”

GUN FOR HIRE: Conor McKenna floats unique AFL comeback plans

The retired Essendon player has shed light on how he could return from Gaelic football for a second stint in Australia.

7news.com.au

The car haha:

Love this... see you soon Conor

Winning the SAM:

View attachment 1233694


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Ex-Bomber Conor McKenna’s fairytale homecoming complete with All-Ireland title

Ex-Bomber’s fairytale homecoming complete with Gaelic football title

www.foxsports.com.au

Not sure if its been mentioned elsewhere, but great story and happy for him.

Reconsidering his options:

View attachment 1236104

scratched that itch…

You know you want to Conor.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

After bit of a social media stalk this morning on his Twitter...

I've noticed that the most recent post he 'liked' was our Essendon Twitter account congratulating him on winning the premiership In Ireland last year - and no, not because he hasn't been using Twitter since last year...

He'd been liking posts etc as recently as a few weeks ago, so he's been active on it this whole time. So presumably he's liked that Essendon tweet in the last few days... bit of a conspiracy theory here, but that seems a bit too coincidental? Almost as if he's putting the lure out to us?

A bit of a reach maybe, but odd timing all the same!

 

[ghostdog]

id take him back no problems in a flash.
Thing that shits me is he left due to covid, broke a contract and there are already 3-4 other slimey clubs trying to lure him over. Reminds me of the vultures after the saga all trying to cash in.
Essendon took him, developed him and some s**t stain club like geelong will end up with him.

I don't begrudge hom going home due to Covid. Everyone had different concerns around it, some more intense than others. He didn't want to be locked out of his country and away from his family. I can respect that.

 

[ghostdog]

I just don't think we need him, even if we can afford him... although he could bring better defensive pressure to the forwardline...

 

[Beerfish]

I just don't think we need him, even if we can afford him... although he could bring better defensive pressure to the forwardline...

Need is probably not the right word though. He'd be handy.

 

[rusman]

Would love him back. Big fan.

 

[MiguelM]

Overall he is better than Hind, so makes our team better.

Depends on what we are willing to pay & his motivations.

If he wants to play finals Geelong would be a front runner but at the same time they have a pretty robust recruiting process to weed out false intentions.

 

[ant555]

I just don't think we need him, even if we can afford him... although he could bring better defensive pressure to the forwardline...

Speed. Good foot skills. Can play forward or back. I think we could use him and he fills a need.

 

[ghostdog]

Speed. Good foot skills. Can play forward or back. I think we could use him and he fills a need.

I'm thinking about his age and the development stage of our list. If Daveys and Sheezel are added to Dambro and Menzie, McKenna complicates their development. He's also a bit up himself so I'm not sure about that influence.

On the other hand, we need list depth and higher standards, so McKenna in forces someone to lift their game at VFL level.
I dunno. Maybe there is a need.

 

[jmoo wan]

if he wants to come back I’d take him instantly, if he’s not interested, he’s a washed up mercenary hack.

 

[ant555]

I'm thinking about his age and the development stage of our list. If Daveys and Sheezel are added to Dambro and Menzie, McKenna complicates their development. He's also a bit up himself so I'm not sure about that influence.

On the other hand, we need list depth and higher standards, so McKenna in forces someone to lift their game at VFL level.
I dunno. Maybe there is a need.

How does having experience complicate development ?

 

[boncer34]

How does having experience complicate development ?

Pretty simple line of thought he's going with. If McKenna comes back it's one less spot in the 22 for one of the young blokes.

It's also one less spot in their potential ideal spot in the VFL to learn their craft in.

 

[ant555]

Pretty simple line of thought he's going with. If McKenna comes back it's one less spot in the 22 for one of the young blokes.

It's also one less spot in their potential ideal spot in the VFL to learn their craft in.

If that was the case no one at Geelong would have learnt anything.

 

[boncer34]

If that was the case no one at Geelong would have learnt anything.

That's not true.

His argument seems to be that recruiting Connor into a position we already have plenty of talent causes the problem.

The very simple counter point to your Geelong analogy is they don't recruit into positions they're already stacked in.

Edit: and FWIW I don't think it's a great argument that getting him denies players opportunities but it's certainly not cut and dried.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

If there's demand for him (and there would be some) he'd be nuts to come to Essendon. We don't even have a coach ffs.