SCANS have confirmed that Tyrone Sam Maguire winner Conor McKenna will be out of action for four weeks for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL.
McKenna, 27, suffered a hamstring strain during a pre-season intra-club game in the first week of February but after regaining his fitness ahead of schedule, the Lions erred on the side of caution by omitting him from the matchday squad for the opening round defeat at home to Carlton at the Gabba on Friday March 8.
McKenna returned to the Lions starting side for the away defeat to the Fremantle Dockers last Sunday but went off in the fourth quarter with a recurrence of the same troublesome hamstring injury.
The one positive for Brisbane is that due to their participation in the ‘opening round’ that kicked off season 2024, they have an unprecedented bye this weekend. The bizarre fixturing could result in McKenna only missing three instead of four fixtures.
Brisbane host Collingwood in a Grand Final rematch at the Gabba on March 28, followed by another home fixture against North Melbourne on April 5, before a trip to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to face Melbourne on April 11.
Having lost their opening two matches, and lost key players to injury, Brisbane are struggling to reproduce the form that took them all the way to last year’s Grand Final. Lions coach Chris Fagan admits he is struggling to find an answer to his team’s poor start to the season.
“It’s just that two weeks in a row now, in the middle part of the game, there has been a problem to us and I’ve never encountered that with this group before,” Fagan said.
“I don’t have an early theory, I must admit. Fortunately, we’ve got a few days now before we play Collingwood, so we just have to go to work on it.
“We’ve been zero and two before and made top four. It’s a long way away, but you know, we just have to think clearly about what’s going on and try and find some solutions.”
Brisbane has previous when it comes to making a bad start to a season before a remarkable turnaround. In 2021, the Lions lost three of their first four games, but rebounded to win seven consecutive games. They finished fourth on the ladder that year before losing a semi-final to the Western Bulldogs by just a solitary point.
In other news, Geelong Vice-Captain Tom Stewart has backed Mayo’s Oisin Mullin to become a fan favourite. Mullin, who featured in six AFL games last year, yesterday penned a one-year contract extension until the end of the 2025 season.
Stewart said: “Oisin has had a different background to most but the impact he has had on the group has been significant, and to have him sign again is a massive coup for the club.”
Meanwhile the AFL’s man of the moment Callum Brown has received more lavish praise for his stunning early season form. AFL legend Mick McGuane, who won a premiership with Collingwood in 1990, and was named in the All-Australian (team of the year) in 1992, believes the former Derry underage star is a special talent.
Brown was named as the Greater Western Sydney Giants best on ground player after kicking a career-best bag of five goals in their sensational opening round victory against Collingwood, and the Limavady Wolfhounds club man followed up with another two crucial goals in the win against North Melbourne in round one last week.
“Callum Brown is a super story,” McGuane said.
“He showed against Collingwood what an impact he could have for the GWS Giants this season as he booted five goals in a marquee match.
“He’s strong, athletic and kicks the footy better than many who have played the game for a lot longer.”
