Tyrone All-Ireland winner Conor McKenna has been declared fit for Saturday’s AFL Round 6 blockbuster showdown between the Brisbane Lions and Geelong at the Gabba.
McKenna (27) suffered a hamstring strain during a pre-season intraclub game in the first week of February.
After regaining his fitness ahead of schedule, the Lions aired on the side of caution by omitting him from the matchday squad for their opening round defeat at home to Carlton on March 8.
McKenna returned to the Lions starting side for the away defeat to the Fremantle Dockers in Perth on March 17 but went off in the fourth quarter with a recurrence of the same troublesome hamstring injury.
The Eglish man will return to the Lions starting line-up in a televised game that could feature four Irish players in total if Geelong’s former GAA contingent of Zach Tuohy, Oisin Mullin, and Mark O’Connor are all named in the Cats starting line-up.
In McKenna’s absence the Lions have won their past two consecutive games including a statement victory against Melbourne at the MCG last week to keep their finals hopes alive following shock defeats in their opening three matches.
In other news Mark O’Connor (27) has penned a two-year contract extension that will keep him at Geelong until the end of the 2026 season, but the Kerryman has also set his sights on a return to the GAA.
If he leaves the AFL in two years’ time, the Dingle man would have played Australian rules for a decade and would depart as one of only three Irish players including teammate Zach Tuohy and retired Kerry legend Tadhg Kennelly to win an AFL Premiership.
The latter is the only man in history to win both All-Ireland and AFL Premiership titles.
“It’s definitely something I want to do but it’s hard to know when,” O’Connor said of representing his County.
“It’s always something that comes up, at the end of every year because I have very strong connection to home.
“But I’m very happy here now... I’m very settled with my decision.”
O’Connor enjoyed a taste of home during unbeaten Geelong’s 75-point win against North Melbourne on Sunday, when the Cats GMHBA Stadium rocked to the beat of an Irish tune after he booted a rare goal.
“It was pretty funny, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it,” he said.
“Hopefully I can kick a few more and it might get them up and about again.”