Shaun McKernan

Shaun McKernan
Personal information
Full name Shaun McKernan
Date of birth (1990-09-01) 1 September 1990 (age 34)
Original team(s) Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 28, 2008 national draft
Height 196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 100 kg (220 lb)
Position(s) Forward / ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2009–2014 Adelaide 34 (21)
2015–2020 Essendon 53 (51)
2021 St Kilda 04 0(2)
Total 91 (74)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

School/High School: Gladstone Park primary School, Gladstone Park Secondary College

Shaun McKernan (born 1 September 1990) is a former Australian rules footballer having played for the St Kilda Football Club, Essendon Football Club and the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

AFL career

Adelaide

McKernan was drafted by Adelaide with pick 28 in the 2008 national draft. McKernan showed glimpses of his potential but soft tissue injuries and untimely suspensions meant he failed to cement a regular AFL spot.[1] After six seasons and 34 games with the club, Adelaide delisted him.

Essendon

He joined Essendon with pick 12 in the 2014 rookie draft. In November 2016, McKernan was delisted by Essendon,[2] however, he was re-drafted by Essendon in the 2017 rookie draft.[3] McKernan was mainly used as a forward target with the occasional role of relieving in the ruck. McKernan played 16 games in 2019, of which nine were victories and was selected in the Bombers' Elimination Final team. In that season he also kicked 4 goals twice; against Melbourne in round three and Gold Coast in round 19. In a Covid-interrupted season, McKernan played nine of a possible 17 games for the Bombers for four wins, four losses and a draw. Of his final season at Essendon in 2020, McKernan admitted that he had 'fallen out love with the game' and that he "wasn’t happy with how my time finished at Essendon."[4] McKernan wasn't interviewed as part of Essendon's football review at the end of 2020, of which he stated "for [Essendon] is probably a good thing because I would have been pretty honest."[5] Essendon ultimately delisted McKernan and five others on 20 September 2020.[6]

St Kilda

On 6 November 2020, McKernan joined St Kilda as a Free Agent. McKernan was courted by a number of clubs including Melbourne, but ultimately signed for the Saints. McKernan preferenced the Saints due to their closer proximity to his home, compared with Melbourne's training base at Casey Fields.[7] McKernan was brought in primarily as injury coverage for the Saints' forwards.[8]

With 1 round remaining in the 2021 season McKernan announced his retirement after not being offered a contract for 2022.[9]

Family

He is the younger brother of North Melbourne premiership ruckman and Leigh Matthews Trophy winner Corey McKernan.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2020.[10]

Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
H/O
Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
2009 Adelaide 35 1 1 4 4 8 2 3 1.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 2.0 3.0 0.0
2010 Adelaide 35 0 -
2011 Adelaide 35 16 10 8 98 38 136 60 24 92 0.6 0.5 6.1 2.4 8.5 3.7 1.5 5.7
2012 Adelaide 35 6 3 4 28 22 50 9 4 85 0.5 0.7 4.7 3.6 8.3 1.5 0.7 14.2
2013 Adelaide 35 9 7 10 62 44 106 35 22 73 0.8 1.1 6.9 4.9 11.8 3.9 2.4 8.1
2014 Adelaide 35 2 1 1 10 11 21 3 3 10 0.5 0.5 5.0 5.5 10.5 1.5 1.5 6.0
2015 Essendon 44 9 6 3 86 79 165 34 14 206 0.7 0.3 9.6 8.8 18.5 3.8 1.6 22.9
2016 Essendon 44 6 4 1 44 21 65 20 8 41 07 0.2 7.3 3.5 10.8 3.3 1.3 6.8
2017 Essendon 44 3 3 - 18 19 37 12 3 51 1.0 0.0 6.0 6.3 12.3 4.0 2.3 17.0
2018 Essendon 44 10 16 11 95 38 133 56 21 81 1.6 1.1 9.5 3.8 13.3 5.6 2.1 8.1
2019 Essendon 44 16 17 11 136 58 194 81 30 116 1.1 0.7 8.5 3.6 12.1 5.1 1.9 7.3
2020 Essendon 44 9 5 6 48 24 72 31 11 41 0.6 0.7 5.3 2.7 8.0 3.4 1.2 4.6
Career 87 72 56 629 358 987 343 147 798 0.8 0.6 7.2 4.1 11.3 3.9 1.7 9.2

References

  1. ^ "Shaun McKernan". 27 March 2019.
  2. ^ Navaratnam, Dinny (9 November 2016). "Dons dump McKernan, but rookie list beckons". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  3. ^ Browne, Ashley (28 November 2016). "Giants reunite ex-Dockers Mzungu and de Boer". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  4. ^ Cherny, Daniel (7 March 2021). "'Thought I was done': McKernan fell out of love in last year at Bombers". The Age. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. ^ Cherny, Daniel (7 March 2021). "'Thought I was done': McKernan fell out of love in last year at Bombers". The Age. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Essendon confirms five delistings as list reshape begins". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  7. ^ Cherny, Daniel (7 March 2021). "'Thought I was done': McKernan fell out of love in last year at Bombers". The Age. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Saints nab free agent to boost tall stocks". afl.com.au. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. ^ "After 13 seasons and three clubs, it's the end of the road for journeyman". afl.com.au. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Shaun McKernan Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 November 2020.