Will McKenna “make a difference” at Brisbane after nominating Lions?

Former Essendon defender Conor McKenna will play for Brisbane in 2023 after choosing the Lions as his preferred new home.

McKenna spent two years at home in Ireland after retiring in 2020 and met with Brisbane, St Kilda, Essendon and Port Adelaide in recent weeks after making the call to return.

With multiple options at his disposal, McKenna will now join the Lions with the experience of playing 79 games in red and black from 2015 to 2020.

Having made a name for himself as a speedy half-back for the Bombers, SEN’s Sam Edmund and David King praised Brisbane’s recruitment of the Irishman as they feel he fills a need for Chris Fagan’s side.

Edmund: “Connor McKenna will make a difference there, the speed off half-back.”

King: “They have no speed off half-back.”

Edmund: “He is a needs recruit and if he’s up for it, if he’s fit and he’s going to perform and he can get back to what we saw at Essendon, then he’s going to be a great recruit as well.”

King: “I’ll be keen to see what they do at half back.

“Rich has been vulnerable, and Keidean Coleman was vulnerable late in the year.

“They’re very good with the ball in hand and very creative with ball in hand, but when the opposition were bringing the ball forward, they were gettable more often than not.

“Against the good teams, this is why they’ve got a poor record against top eight teams, they were gettable off the half-back flank.”

McKenna is set to join Brisbane via the pre-season supplemental selection period ahead of the 2023 campaign.