Conlon, a who was equally at home on the , was notable for his success as a goal-kicker. He developed an 'around-the-corner' sideways shuffle before moving in to strike the ball, claiming the shuffle gave him more time. Conlon credits this habit to soccer, a game he played until the age of fifteen. Having only played 3 under-23s matches, Conlon debuted for Wests in round 6 of the
1981 NSWRFL season, scoring a try against
North Sydney. His performance in a televised match was noted, with the next days paper saying, "Tall and fast, Conlon came up with a debut match that footballers dream about. The Magpies have unearthed a dashing new find." In his two seasons with Wests, Conlon scored 12 tries and 148 points, but was often second choice of goalkicker behind
Greg Cox. His last game for the Magpies was in the 1982 semi-finals. After two seasons with the Western Suburbs, Conlon signed with Canterbury in 1983. Conlon had a successful season with Canterbury, and the team made it to the
preliminary final against
Parramatta Eels. Conlon dislocated his hip in the game but was able to return to first-grade in round 10 of the 1984 season. Within a few weeks of his return from injury, Conlon was selected on the wing for
NSW City in the annual
City vs Country game at the
Sydney Cricket Ground. He scored 14 points from a try and 5 goals. His performance for NSW City earned him selection for game I of the
1984 State of Origin series for
New South Wales. Conlon played in all three game of the 1984 series for the Blues, kicking ten goals. In June 1984, with
Eric Grothe injured, Conlon made his first and only appearance in an
Australian representative side. He was selected for the first Test of the
Ashes series against
Great Britain and kicked four goals. Although Conlon made representative selection in 1984, his form dropped later in the season and Canterbury coach,
Warren Ryan, dropped Conlon to the bench in round 24. Conlon wasn't included in any of the team line-ups for the rest of the season and he was omitted from the successful team that met Parramatta in the
1984 grand final. Conlon joined
Balmain for the 1985 season and he was one of the most consistent point-scorers during the mid-1980s. In the
1987 NSWRL season, he led the competition's point-scoring table with 196 points. Conlon was a member of the Balmain team which lost to his former club, Canterbury, in the
1988 grand final. ==Post-playing career==