Essendon's Conor McKenna retires
Essendon star Conor McKenna has retired effective immediately.
The 24-year-old defender will return home to Ireland and informed his teammates of his decision on Tuesday morning.
“I do really feel the time is now right for me to return home to Ireland,” McKenna said.
“I’ve made no secret of the fact that at some point, I’d want to be returning home to my family and I’ve been weighing up the decision recently. It’s been a difficult year for everyone, but it’s also been a chance to take stock and weigh up several things in my life, so the time is right.
“I will always be grateful for Essendon’s support of both myself and my family since I arrived at the club from the other side of the world at the end of 2014.
The club's general manager of football Dan Richardson said McKenna and the club had open and honest conversations over the years about the possibility of him returning home.
“We understand Conor’s decision to return home to be with his family and while we are disappointed to lose a player of his calibre from our list, he departs the club with our support to return to his homeland,” Richardson said.
“It has been a very trying year for Conor personally, too, but ultimately we accept that the pull to return home was too strong. We will continue to provide our full support to Conor as he embarks on the next phase of his life.
“We thank Conor for his contribution to the club and wish both he and his family all the very best for their future endeavours.”
McKenna played 79 games in the red and black.
He was at the centre of a coronavirus controversy earlier in the year when he became the first AFL player to test positive to COVID-19.
Consequently, this season's match between Essendon and Melbourne match was postponed.
An investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services found that only teammate James Stewart was a close contact and both were forced to quarantine.
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