AFL news: Irish prospect Ross McQuillan quits Essendon months after teammate Conor McKenna

Another Irishman has quit Essendon months after Conor McKenna’s departure, leaving the club with another hole in its list to fill this pre-season.

Ross McQuillan trains at Tullamarine.

Essendon has lost a second Irishman in four months to premature retirement.

Homesick ex-Bomber Conor McKenna called it quits in September after a tumultuous period that included him testing positive for COVID-19.

The Herald Sun can reveal his countryman Ross McQuillan has also cut his AFL career short and won’t be returning from Ireland.

Another Irishman, Cian McBride, remains on Essendon’s list as a Category B rookie.

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McQuillan, who turns 22 on January 18, was preparing for the second season of his two-year international contract as a Category B rookie.

It’s understood the difficult circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in him losing his passion for the game and wanting to go back to Ireland.

He was seen as the pick of the Irish crop at the 2018 AFL Europe Combine, with his combination of blistering speed – he ran 2.77sec for the 20m sprint – and good kicking skills on both feet.

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Ross McQuillan was rated one of the top Irish prospects before being drafted.

After visiting Australia with fellow Irish prospects Luke Towey, Ronan Devereux and Peadar Mogan in April 2019, the Bombers beat Richmond to his signature in the following months.

Towey eventually signed with Gold Coast and remains on the Suns’ list.

However, McQuillan’s introduction to the AFL coincided with the global COVID outbreak and him heading back to Ireland during the season suspension.

After a slight delay, McQuillan and other Irish footballers from various AFL clubs were able to get back into Australia for the season restart.

He echoed the Irish AFL crew’s disappointment at the coverage of teammate McKenna’s positive coronavirus test, especially after he tested negative only days after recording low-level readings.

McQuillan stayed with McKenna during his two-week trial for Essendon and they developed a strong bond.

He told the Irish News in September 2019 that leaving his county side Armagh behind to pursue professional sport was “bittersweet” but that he didn’t want to have any regrets.

“I’ll give it my all,” McQuillan said at the time.

“In 10 years’ time I don’t want to be looking back going, ‘I wish I had have done this’ or ‘What if I had have done that?’.

“I want to be able to say that I tried it and it either worked out or it didn’t. You can’t have any qualms about it.”

AFL clubs are being increasingly understanding of the challenges Irishmen face in playing a sport half a world away, including letting them play with their Gaelic team in the off-season.

McQuillan did not make his AFL debut in his one season on the list.