Former GAA star and Tyrone man Conor McKenna has been named the winner of the AFL’s Goal of the Year award.

Conor bagged the award for a stunning soccer-style finish that went viral around the world.

The audacious goal came against Collingwood back in round 24 and was instantly hailed as the finish of the year.

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Conor McKenna of the Lions celebrates a goal. Pic: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

THE GOAL

With the ball spinning towards the by-line, the Brisbane Lions man met it on the half-volley with the outside of his boot and somehow split the posts from an impossibly acute angle.

It was hailed as a piece of improvisation that the AFL’s own channels described as ‘impossible’.

The strike, which many had tipped for the award from the moment it happened, has now landed McKenna a cheque for 50,000 Australian dollars, around €28,500.

‘DID IT AGAIN’

Collecting the award, McKenna was quick to credit his roots. ‘A bit of Gaelic skills came in there,’ he said.

And for anyone who doubted whether the finish was a fluke, the 30-year-old answered them in the best way possible, producing a near-identical goal at the weekend.

‘A few of the boys thought it was a fluke, but I did it again at the weekend, so I guess it’s not really,’ he said to laughs.

REMARKABLE CAREER

McKenna already boasts one of the most remarkable CVs in Irish sport. After a first spell with Essendon, he returned home and helped Tyrone to an All-Ireland title in 2021, before heading back to Australia and winning an AFL Premiership with Brisbane in 2024.

That double made him only the second man in history, after Kerry’s Tadhg Kennelly, to win both a Sam Maguire and an AFL Premiership.

This season he has kicked on again, thriving in a new attacking role after years as a running defender, with Australian commentators left in awe and one AFL headline even asking ‘McKenna or Messi?’.

GRAND FINAL BOUND

The good times are showing no sign of slowing. That second wonder goal came as Brisbane held off a fierce Hawthorn comeback to reach a third consecutive Grand Final, where they will face Fremantle, with McKenna now a key man rather than a novelty.

As for how he plans to spend his prize money, McKenna had a prize answer: ‘If the wife asks, it’s probably for the house,’ he laughed. ‘But if I get my way, I’ll buy a horse probably.’