Brisbane Lions football manager Danny Daly says Conor McKenna has exceeded the club's expectations since his return to Aussie rules following two seasons back home with Tyrone GAA.
The club signed McKenna last winter after two years in Ireland, the first of which saw him win an All-Ireland with his native county.
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Conor McKenna Returns to AFL After Two Year Tyrone GAA Stint
The 27-year-old, who spent five years at Essendon prior to making a return to Gaelic football, is set to play his 100th AFL game this weekend.
"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," Daly told the AFL website.
"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."
11 September 2021; Conor McKenna of Tyrone lifts the Sam Maguire Cup following the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Mayo and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Conor McKenna said he was "pretty bullish" about making the transition back to the AFL. The Eglish man added that he had taken a break from gym work while in Ireland.
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"I wanted to play as many games as possible," said.
"My first goal was to play round one, get in the team, tick that off the list and then build consistent football.
"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.
"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."
