Australian Football

Tall, agile, dynamic and supremely talented, Corey McKernan boasted all the ingredients necessary to have become one of the all time greats. As it was, he fell some way short of true greatness because of his often glaring lack of consistency. Put simply, his best was better than that of almost any other ruckman in the game, but his worst was simply woeful. On one occasion, playing for North Melbourne against Richmond, McKernan failed to trouble the statisticians for the entire game. Yet in 1996 he would have shared the Brownlow Medal with James Hird and Michael Voss had he not incurred a suspension during the season. Suspension also robbed him of the chance to win the Norwich Rising Star award in 1994 when he was warmly favoured to do so.

Recruited from Westmeadows, McKernan made his AFL debut with North Melbourne in 1993 and went on to play 196 games and kick 250 goals with the club over the course of two stints which ended in 2005. He was a member of the Kangaroos' 1996 and 1999 premiership teams, and achieved AFL All Australian selection in 1996. He spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons with Carlton, playing 41 games and kicking 60 goals, besides winning the club's best and fairest award in his first year. Unable to break into the strong Kangaroos' line-up during his last season as an AFL registered player McKernan spent the year performing impressively for Port Melbourne in the VFL.

Author - John Devaney