AUSTRALIAN Rules side Carlton have refuted claims that they have signed four Irish players, but football operations manager Steven Icke has confirmed that the Blues have offered Cork defender Michael Shields the opportunity to join the club for a trial during pre-season.

SETANTA Ó hAILPíN hit the headlines in Australia yesterday after pictures of a training ground bust-up with team-mate Cain Ackland appeared in the country’s biggest selling newspaper, The Melbourne Herald Sun.