Irish duo impress at AFLW Combine, McKenna offered new AFL contract

Aoife Horisk took part along with Meath’s Mary-Kate Lynch.

Aoife Horisk of Tyrone after scoring her side's first goal during the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Intermediate Championship final this year. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Tyrone footballer Aoife Horisk was a standout performer at the AFLW Draft Combine in Melbourne as she clocked the fastest 20m sprint time.

Horisk took part along with Meath’s Mary-Kate Lynch. They finished first and second in the 20m sprint with times of 3.148 and 3.169 respectively.

The wing-forward scored 1-3 in the All-Ireland intermediate final this year while Lynch was involved in the senior decider as Meath lost out to Dublin.

Four Irish players were invited to Australia to take part in the AFL and AFLW combines recently. It involves a series of club interviews and athletic testing. Horisk also finished in the top ten for the 2km time trial with a time of 7:51.

There is significant club interest in both players. They can nominate for the AFLW Draft at the end of the year. This season, there are 39 Irish players on list and 42 in total if you factor in inactive players.

Derry’s Ruairi Forbes and Offaly’s Cillian Bourke also participated in the AFL combine. Neither of them finished in the top 10 for any test.

In 2024, two Irish players also took part in the combine with Davy Colbert finishing in the top 10 for the 20m sprint and standing vertical jump. Derry’s Eoin McEvoy participated with him, having impressed at the Dublin-based training sessions beforehand.

Meanwhile, Tyrone’s Conor McKenna made a shock return last weekend as he helped his club Eglish to a 2-19 to 1-14 win over Moy in the IFC semi-final.

The 2021 All-Ireland winner returned to Australia in 2022 and has played for the Brisbane Lions since.

One of only two players to have been part of teams who have won both All-Ireland Senior Football and Australian Football League premiership titles, McKenna had a mixed campaign for Brisbane this season. Having played in the 2024 Grand Final triumph, he made five appearances in 2025 and did not make the squad last month as they defended their Premiership crown last month.

McKenna signed a two-year contract in 2023 but per AFL.com, the 29-year-old has been offered a one-year extension for 2026.