Conor McKenna will make his 100th appearance in the AFL this weekend.

After parting ways with Essendon at the end of 2020 after a five-year spell, McKenna returned home to win an All-Ireland SFC title with Tyrone in 2021 before returning to Australia to join the Brisbane Lions. He has played in all of Brisbane's 20 matches so far this season and is expected to sign a new two-year contract with the club which is flying high in the race for the Premiership.

McKenna's 100th AFL appearance will come on Saturday when the Lions host Adelaide at the Gabba.

"I was pretty bullish," McKenna said of his Aussie Rules return on the club's website.

"I wanted to play as many games as possible. 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."

 

 

Conor's return to AFL has exceeded many peoples expectations.

Ahead of his 100th game, hear from our Irishman as he reflects on his time at the Club so far 💯https://t.co/Bj5qaLto8L

— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) August 8, 2023

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