Tyrone County Football and Hurling

[Eire90]

what sort of money are the top afl players on

[Eire90]

Would be considered one of the top players in the country if he comes back.

[Eire90]

well tyrone can lose twice and still win all ireland

[JimStynes]

what sort of money are the top afl players on

Millions of Aussie dollars between contract and sponsorships. McKenna is in the top 10 best players at his club so big money would have been on the horizon. He's mad in the head moving home if he's just homesick. If there is something else more serious then it's totally understandable to come home.

[GaaFanatic123]

Why is he home? Unless there is a private matter then surely he will be away back to Oz in a month or 2. Joining the real world of work and fitting in football and shite weather in Ireland might cure his homesickness.

Eglish matters. And Tyrone. He can go back once the ultimate prize in his life is won.

He must be on a £100k a year over there at least. It's hard to even know if he will be any use now and where would he play?

If he is homesick and restless, the money won't be an issue. Dont think it's hard to imagine hime re-adjusting given that Marty Clarke and Kennelly both did rightly on their return.
He's now a professional athlete - his youtube content is unreal and based on that alone there could be any n umber of options for later this year or definitely next

YouTube content at a different sport means nothing! Yes a brilliant talent and can still be worked with but he needs time, I don't see him establishing himself on the Tyrone team this season, maybe not even next season, but everyone talking about how physical he is, Gaa now is as much physical as AFL, if not more, AFL isn't the game it used to be years ago due to health and safety on tackles and no shoulders barges etc like what you can get in Gaa, he's no bigger than any other man on the Tyrone set up, I cud name 10/15 men on the Tyrone team who are physically bigger than him,and lets not forget Tyrone players are practically training as pros aswel, probably even fitter than McKenna! so please give him time to adjust, because its us the supporters who cud ruin him with too much hype and pressure!!
And everyone sayin "Oh he was a brilliant minor", well to this day Kyle Coney is the best minor I've ever saw, doesn't mean he's guna turn into a superstar senior player! Rant over!!

[JimStynes]

What a load of shite. AFL is an incredibly physical game, Gaelic football doesn't compare in that regard. Completely different game and different fitness required. Gaa would be quicker and more twisting and turning. AFL games regularly last over 100 mins and the ground is massive. It's a much more lung busting run type sport. They cover crazy kilometres throughout games. The skills levels would be much higher in GAA as well. I could see McKenna playing CHB or somewhere like that now. Even midfield as he will be extremely fit and used to getting up and down the ground.

[Redhand Santa]

what sort of money are the top afl players on

Millions of Aussie dollars between contract and sponsorships. McKenna is in the top 10 best players at his club so big money would have been on the horizon. He's mad in the head moving home if he's just homesick. If there is something else more serious then it's totally understandable to come home.

I don't think he is anywhere near earning millions of Aussie Dollars. But he would still be earning good money. But life isn't all about money and it sounds like he's been struggling out there for a long time. 5 years is a long time for a lad to go away from home if he's not happy. You can't put a price tag for example on spending time with family and friends. Hopefully he makes the decision which is best for himself. If he does want home hopefully he can get a good education and job. It would be great to see him back in a Tyrone shirt.

[nrico2006]

He could come back and fit in quickly, or he could come back and simply not be as good as we imagined.  I always look at how good Caolan Mooney was at under-age and the speed he possessed, but he hasn't set the world alight for Down since he came back.  As mentioned, being unreal at minor is seemingly a jinx in Tyrone, whether thats an issue with the management or something else, I don't know - see Mulgrew, Coney, O'Neill.

[Redhand Santa]

He could come back and fit in quickly, or he could come back and simply not be as good as we imagined.  I always look at how good Caolan Mooney was at under-age and the speed he possessed, but he hasn't set the world alight for Down since he came back.  As mentioned, being unreal at minor is seemingly a jinx in Tyrone, whether thats an issue with the management or something else, I don't know - see Mulgrew, Coney, O'Neill.

Mooney came back with injury problems but has improved since.

In terms of the minors not making it you could find loads of examples of good minors not making it in all counties. There is a lot more physicality needed at senior level and that's where some of our players have struggled, O'Neill wasn't helped by injuries at a crucial time. You could find plenty of examples of good minors making it Tyrone in the last 20 years - starting with the 97/98 team, then the likes of Cavanagh, Mattie Donnelly, Harte etc.

[Gaagaagaa20]

what sort of money are the top afl players on

Millions of Aussie dollars between contract and sponsorships. McKenna is in the top 10 best players at his club so big money would have been on the horizon. He's mad in the head moving home if he's just homesick. If there is something else more serious then it's totally understandable to come home.

I don't think he is anywhere near earning millions of Aussie Dollars. But he would still be earning good money. But life isn't all about money and it sounds like he's been struggling out there for a long time. 5 years is a long time for a lad to go away from home if he's not happy. You can't put a price tag for example on spending time with family and friends. Hopefully he makes the decision which is best for himself. If he does want home hopefully he can get a good education and job. It would be great to see him back in a Tyrone shirt.

Forget about him playing for anyone other than Essendon in the immediate future, he's definitely playing for them again when the season starts. Hopefully see him with Tyrone at some stage but won't be happening while he is still under contract which runs til the 2021 season.

[Angelo]

He could come back and fit in quickly, or he could come back and simply not be as good as we imagined.  I always look at how good Caolan Mooney was at under-age and the speed he possessed, but he hasn't set the world alight for Down since he came back.  As mentioned, being unreal at minor is seemingly a jinx in Tyrone, whether thats an issue with the management or something else, I don't know - see Mulgrew, Coney, O'Neill.

I think Mooney has been really good the past couple of years, he's just playing in a fairly average Down side. I thought he was exceptional the year they made the Ulster final.

Also worth noting that Mooney didn't make the grade at AFL, McKenna has excelled.

Mooney was pure speed and power, he wouldn't have had the same footballing ability as McKenna. You look at the scoring rate of McKenna at minor level for Tyrone, he played a lot of his football and midfield and was regularly hitting the likes of 1-04 a game with a fair chunk of that from play.

It's not set in stone but I haven't been as excited or expectant of player to come out of Tyrone since Cavanagh.

Coney and O'Neill had physical issues when it came to senior football. Coney found the physical dominance he had at minor level no longer existed at senior level, O'Neill just didn't have the physique and pace needed at this level - a bad injury for him just out of minor compounded that.

[JimStynes]

what sort of money are the top afl players on

Millions of Aussie dollars between contract and sponsorships. McKenna is in the top 10 best players at his club so big money would have been on the horizon. He's mad in the head moving home if he's just homesick. If there is something else more serious then it's totally understandable to come home.

I don't think he is anywhere near earning millions of Aussie Dollars. But he would still be earning good money. But life isn't all about money and it sounds like he's been struggling out there for a long time. 5 years is a long time for a lad to go away from home if he's not happy. You can't put a price tag for example on spending time with family and friends. Hopefully he makes the decision which is best for himself. If he does want home hopefully he can get a good education and job. It would be great to see him back in a Tyrone shirt.

No he's def not earning anywhere near that but the top players would be. Buddy Franklin signed a big contract but his endorsements make him just as much. The salary cap doesn't allow for teams to pay their players silly money.

[Pearse Blue]

Conor McKenna playing in the MacRory Cup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hEshsQY_9Q

Back training with Eglish last night apparently.

Contacted a player, Eglish haven't trained this week..

[Angelo]

It's a story that will rumble on until we get an definitive answer, similar to McShane.

None of us really know and speculation will be rife.

I'm looking at it objectively.

- He clearly misses home, I think he misses gaelic football and misses playing for Tyrone.
- He's had 5 years out in Australia, he'd be reasonably well set up financially. He has probably enough money in the bank now to go back to Eglish and buy or build a house for himself and he's only 23. His profile in gaelic football will see him well looked after.
- I think the timing of it is striking, you don't want an important player going 4 weeks before the season starts in a professional sport. Missing the entire pre season sets you back a long way, particularly in a pro game
- There's a bit of a buzz back around Tyrone now with McShane returning and the speculation re McKenna. I'm sure Mickey Harte will be doing everything he possibly can to keep him here and I think he'll use that buzz to try and tap into McKenna's head.
- His contract with Essedon is not an issue, it's only an issue if he breaks it and goes to play with another AFL side. Plenty of Irish lads break their contract and return home when they get homesick or realise the game is not for them
- The big issue is McKenna clearly is not enjoying it over there, despite the money, weather, pro lifestlye

I'm very hopeful he could be home for good. He has options here, he'll be well looked after with a job or UUJ will be rolling out the red carpet for him if he decides to stay. Again, it's just speculation but it's my read on matters.

[Norf Tyrone]

Essendon are not going to 'go after' McKenna if he comes home. It's very important that AFL Clubs are seen to be doing right by the Irish lads as they want to be as attractive as possible for the next superstar.

There are lots of barriers re McKenna coming back. I don't think this is one of them.