Essendon set to step up its dialogue with homesick Irishman Conor McKenna
Conor McKenna remains in Ireland as he battles homesickness. And while the Bombers highly doubt he will be back for Round 1, the club isn’t giving up on him returning to the red and black.
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Essendon will step up its dialogue with Conor McKenna across the next week, but the homesick Irishman remains in doubt for the Round 1 clash with Fremantle at Marvel Stadium.
The Bombers recently allowed McKenna to return to his hometown of Eglish, in Country Tyrone, citing “homesickness and family-related reasons”.
It’s understood the club agreed to give McKenna at least a week without interruption to spend time with his family – and to clear his head – before re-engaging discussions about what it hopes will be a potential return date.
While Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) are closely monitoring the situation, Essendon remains cautiously optimistic the 23-year-old – who is contracted until the end of the 2021 season – will be back soon to honour the deal.
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Discussions will resume in the coming days with Essendon player welfare manager Matt Little – who has a strong relationship with McKenna and his family – expected to play a key role.
The Irishman assured Bombers officials he would maintain his fitness base while overseas.
The club hasn’t yet drawn a line through his name for Round 1 – which falls on March 21, a week before his 24th birthday – but he won’t play unless he has managed at least one pre-season game.
He won’t be available for the club’s opening Marsh Community Series clash with West Coast in Perth on Thursday week, but would likely need to play in the second pre-season clash with Geelong at Colac on March 9 to guarantee him a Round 1 slot against the Dockers.
The Belfast Telegraph suggested recently McKenna’s homesickness might have been stirred by playing in a relegation playoff for Eglish last November, without the permission of the Bombers.
He also missed the club’s game against Gold Coast last year to attend his brother’s wedding.
The paper speculated McKenna had had “conversations” about his future with Tyrone All-Star Cathal McShane, who this month turned down an AFL contract with Adelaide after impressing in a 10-day trial.
“You can’t help but wonder just what kind of effect that now infamous relegation playoff between Eglish and Edendork last November – in which he played – had on him (McKenna),” the Belfast Telegraph’s Declan Bogue noted.
“McKenna is a product of his environment. His family are steeped in the GAA and in Eglish, his mother Sheila having been a renowned camogie (an Irish stick-and-ball team sport for women) player.”
The hard-running rebound defender is coming off his best season, having finished fourth in the club’s best and fairest last year. He was being considered as a forward option in 2020, having trained for most of the summer in attack, in an effort to boost the Essendon attack, which looks leaner than it has before.
The Bombers have long been aware of McKenna’s homesickness and have worked diligently behind the scenes in an effort to resolve some of the issues.
They may be prepared to give further ground, given some of McKenna’s homesickness concerns relate back to the length of the AFL pre-season.
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McKenna conceded in December: “I still suffer a bit with homesickness. I’ve always been a home bird and the first couple of years were pretty tough, not really knowing if you want to go back at the end of the year and still kind of struggling to go back.
“The club realise that I’ve probably struggled with homesickness for the last five years and will probably always struggle with it, it’s just something I’m dealing with and trying to make it easier.”
McKenna played 22 games last season, taking his tally to 73 from his five seasons. He elevated his importance to the Essendon side, and that’s why the Bombers are doing all they can to ensure he comes back to Tullamarine.
Originally published as Essendon set to step up its dialogue with homesick Irishman Conor McKenna
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