CONOR MCKENNA’S RETURN to Aussie Rules has been hailed as “phenomenal” after the former Tyrone star admitted he took two years away from gym work.
The 2021 All-Ireland winner had played for five seasons in Australia before heading home for two years, during which time he says he lost three-to-four kilos of muscle mass.
Having been recruited by Brisbane Lions last winter, McKenna was treated like a first-year player but forced his way into the starting team during practice matches.
He has played all 20 matches so far this season and Saturday’s meeting with Adelaide will mark his 100th career game.
“When I first went home, I didn’t do any gym work for two years. I’m not a massive fan of gym, so I had a break,” McKenna told AFL media.
“I probably lost three or four kilos of muscle mass so that was probably the main thing coming back here, getting back in the gym on a daily basis.
“I actually struggled (with the running) going back home to play Gaelic. You don’t really get a break in Gaelic. It goes for 70 minutes and normally you don’t come off.
“AFL, at least you get a break once a quarter, which is pretty good.”
Despite the adjustment required to readapt to the oval-ball game, McKenna backed himself to break into the team immediately.
“I was pretty bullish. I wanted to play as many games as possible.
“My first goal was to play round one, get in the team, tick that off the list, and then build consistent football.”
Brisbane’s football manager Danny Daly couldn’t have anticipated how well their new recruit would work out.
“To be perfectly honest, we thought it’d take him eight or nine games to get back into the flow of things and he’d be really important for us in the back half of the year,” said Daly. “That’s how we looked at it.
“For him to play every game so far is a lot more than what we expected.
Two years away playing a different sport and being able to come back and do what he’s been able to do is pretty phenomenal when you think about it.”
The Lions are already guaranteed a spot in the finals series with three regular season games to go.
“He’s been a great pick-up for us,” continued Daly.
“He’s certainly gone well beyond what we thought he’d be able to output this year and he’s going to be pretty important to us for the last few weeks and finals.”