Conor McKenna will experience a moment at the Gabba on Saturday night that for a long time wasn’t going to happen and has been precisely 1000 days in the making … his first game against former club Essendon.

It was 16 August 2020 when the Irishman wore the red and black of Essendon for the 79^th and last time, which oddly was against St.Kilda at the Gabba due to Covid.

He suffered a hip injury that sidelined him for four weeks while the Bombers were entrenched in the AFL hub in Queensland, and on 8 September, when the shortened season was still only at Round 16, he announced his retirement. He headed to Melbourne to pack up his stuff and returned to Ireland.

McKenna had been in the spotlight since testing positive to Covid on 20 June, which prompted the abandonment of the Bombers game the following day. He was subjected to intense trial by media and a relentless attack on social media which fellow Irishman and Geelong player Zach Tuohy labelled “disgraceful” and “outrageous”. McKenna had had enough.

Having recaptured his love for the AFL, now enjoying a much less frantic football lifestyle in Brisbane, the 26-year-old dashing defender will face only 10 members of his last Essendon side on Saturday night. But there’s no denying it’s still a little different.

It’s something that nine current Lions teammates have already been through with varying and often unforgettable circumstances, and something that still awaits Jack Gunston and Darragh Joyce.

Joe Daniher, who played with McKenna in his first 36 games at Essendon and 41 of 79 in total, celebrated his first game against the club where his family is like royalty in spectacular fashion.

It was Round 5 2021, his fifth Lions game, and Daniher had a career-best 25 possessions, kicked two goals and picked up one Brownlow vote in a 57-point Gabba win.

Jarryd Lyons and Charlie Cameron also polled in their first ‘reunion’ a week apart in 2019.

In Round 6 against Gold Coast at Carrara Lyons had 27 possessions and two goals in a 49-point win, and in Round 9, having not played against Adelaide in his first season in Brisbane, Cameron had 16 possessions and kicked three goals in a one-point Gabba win.

It was a thriller. The Lions led by 26 points nine minutes into the final term but inside the last minute it was back to seven points. An Eddie Betts goal cut it to one point but as he slotted it the siren sounded.

Lachie Neale’s first game against Fremantle at Perth Stadium the following week in Sir Douglas Nicholls Round was another one-point thriller. After leading at every change the Lions lost when Michael Walters, a seven-year Neale teammate at the Dockers, crashed a 49m angled set shot after the siren into the post for the winning behind. Neale had 24 possessions.

In Round 22 2019 Lincoln McCarthy enjoyed the ultimate reunion with Geelong at the Gabba. Playing his 50^th career game in a top-of-the-table clash at the Gabba, McCarthy climbed onto the shoulders of the Cats’ Jack Henry to take a screamer just before the final siren. He slotted it from 35m for a win and put the Lions on top of the ladder after they’d had trailed at every change and been 18 points down with 15 minutes to play. 

Callum AhChee enjoyed a 45-point win in his first game against Gold Coast at the Gabba in 2020, and in Round 4 last year ex-Geelong pair Darcy Fort and Nakia Cockatoo shared their reunion in a 10-point loss at Kardinia Park, when the Lions led by a point at thee-quarter time before Tom Hawkins kicked the late clincher.

There is a quirky statistic in this space, too, that is a good omen for McKenna and Daniher. The last Essendon player to join Brisbane before them was Blake Caracella in 2003. And in his first season in Lions colors he won a flag.

Wins & Losses

Brisbane and Essendon will meet for the 51^st time on Saturday night. The aggregate record favors the Bombers 28-21 with one draw, after they won the first 10 meetings. But more significantly, the Lions enjoyed a 5-0 run from 2001-03, including the 2001 grand final. They are 4-3 against Essendon under Chris Fagan.

Brisbane are 11-8 against Essendon at the Gabba after going 1-5 at Carrara, and are 1-5 with a draw at the MCG – the one win was the grand final. It’s 8-6 to Brisbane at Docklands but they never beat the Bombers at Windy Hill (0-3) and Princes Park (0-1).

Common Players

Conor McKenna and Joe Daniher are two of 19 players to represent both clubs. There were five ex-Bombers in the Bears’ first side – Peter Banfield, Brenton Phillips, Geoff Raines, Mike Richardson and Chris Waterson – and Frank Dunell became a sixth the same year.

Roger Merrett, who shares naming rights to the club champion trophy with Kevin Murray, followed in 1988 ahead of Gavin Keane in 1990 and David Calthorpe in 1999. Damien Cupido was the first player to go from Brisbane to Essendon in 2002 before Blake Caracella made his well-time moved in 2003.

Six Lions then became Bombers – Mal Michael (2007), Matthew Leuenberger, James Polkinghorne and Sam Michael (2016), Josh Green (2017) and Tom Cutler (2020) – before Daniher and McKenna joined Brisbane.

Brownlow Votes

Jonathan Brown heads the Brownlow Medal votes in games between the two clubs with 14. He polled five times, including four three-pointers – the most by any player. Simon Black, with votes in seven games, has polled most and is second on the vote list with 13 Nigel Lappin, Lachie Neale and Essendon’s Zach Merrett have polled 11 votes, Michael Voss (8), Essendon’s Brendon Goddard (7), Jobe Watson (7) and Michael Long (7), Luke Power (6) and Essendon’s Simon Madden (6) and Brett Stanton (6). Joe Daniher has polled for both clubs against the other. His first time on the voting slip was three votes against Brisbane in 2015 when he kicked a career-best six goals in his 34^th game, before he marked his first game against Essendon with one vote in 2021.

Most Games

Simon Black joined the AFL in 1998 and watched the first meeting between the two clubs in his time in Round 8 1998. Thereafter he never missed a game against Essendon, playing 21 in a row until his retirement in 2013. Dustin Fletcher holds the record for games for Essendon against Brisbane at 27.

Most Possessions

Lachie Neale’s 41 possessions against Essendon at Docklands in Round 2 last year is a record for games between the two clubs. He also had 40 against the Bombers in Round 4 2019 to share the second-best possession count with Essendon’s Michael Long, who had a career-best 40 at Princes Park in 1995, and Tim Watson a career-best at Windy Hill in 1989.

Essendon captain Zach Merrett has topped 30 possessions most often in Brisbane v Essendon games, having done so six times to head the Bombers’ Jobe Watson (5) and Brendon Goddard (4), and Neale and Simon Black (4). Daniel Rich, Adrian Fletcher and Tom Rockliff had three 30-possession games for Brisbane against Essendon.

Most Goals

Jonathan Brown holds the record for most goals in a Brisbane v Essendon game, having kicked eight in Round 6 2005 at Docklands in his first game back after a five-match suspension incurred in the 2004 grand final. Brisbane’s Daniel Bradshaw had a seven-goal bag against the Essendon in Round 12 2004 at Docklands, while Scott Lucas kicked seven at Docklands in 2006 and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti seven at the MCG in Round 4 2019 playing alongside McKenna. Essendon’s Matthew Lloyd had nine games of four or more goals against Brisbane, with Bradshaw seven and Brown five against Essendon.

Game Records

Brisbane’s highest score and biggest win against Essendon was at Docklands in Round 12 2004, when they kicked 25-12 (162) to win by 66 points. Michael Voss (30 possessions and two goals), Simon Black (32 possessions and two goals) and Daniel Bradshaw (seven goals) took the votes.

The Essendon equivalent was in the second game between the clubs in 1988, when they kicked 29-20 (194) to belt the Bears by 140 points on a Friday night at the MCG. Paul Salmon kicked five and Simon Madden was best afield. It could have been Roger Merrett’s first game against his former club but he missed through injury.

A Familiar Face

Saturday night’s game will see dual premiership Lion Brad Scott coach for the 16^th time against the Lions and the first time in red and black. Scott, in his first season with the Bombers after 10 years at North Melbourne from 2010-19, has an 11-4 record against Brisbane. Who else is on the Essendon coaching staff? None other Blake Caracella.

Dale Tapping, a Lions assistant coach under Chris Fagan from 2017-2021, joined Essendon in 2022 under former coach Ben Rutten and was set to continue under Scott until March this year when he was diagnosed with blood cancer, forcing him to step away from the job.