Kennelly re-iterates Roos’ warning of AFL poaching

TADHG KENNELLY has warned top-ranking GAA officials that their ailing relationship with the AFL could lead to the wholesale recruiting of young Irish talent.

Former Kerry underage star Kennelly has backed claims by his Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos that the breakdown between the two associations could lead to a mass exodus of young Irish talent Down Under.

The outstanding debut season of Collingwood’s Martin Clarke, a former Down minor footballer, has revived Australian interest in taking young players from Gaelic football.

Roos claimed this week that the breakdown between the GAA and the AFL over the GAA’s refusal to play an International rules series this year could prompt a mass recruiting drive by Australian clubs to get around the AFL’s highly restrictive draft.

And Kennelly insisted: “Now the relationship’s gone a bit sour over the International rules, it’s going to give clubs here open slather (for recruiting in Ireland). It’s sad and you just wonder what the GAA can do to stop it.

“When you’re losing the best players it’s not good for the game, but I don’t really know what the answer is. What can they do?”

The AFL has a strong profile in Ireland following Kennelly’s role in the Swans’ 2005 Premiership campaign.

And Kennelly revealed that interest has risen even more since Clarke exploded on to the scene with Collingwood, just a year after leaving home.

Kennelly warned: “The more (Irish) success there is here the more the drive is going to be to get that extra player from Ireland. It could be a big issue. It could become a big, big problem if you had 16 clubs doing it every year.

“It hasn’t come to that yet, but I’m sure it will if players like Clarkey keep coming off and being successful so quickly. Clubs could go ‘gee, whiz, we want one of him’.

“It’s hard to say. It depends if the success rate of players coming out here continues.”

Kennelly added: “The difference is being able to earn a livelihood. At home they don’t. They have to work Monday to Friday and train three or four nights a week.

‘‘The training they do is just as much as what we do but they don’t get paid to do it. It’s pretty tough on the families.

‘‘Families do take a back seat. You do need a good support network at home. You have to have a very understanding wife. A lot of players at home retire young because they can’t handle it, especially if they’re self-employed. It’s very hard to try and run a business. You just don’t have the time. It’s pretty sad.

“Sydney is always getting letters and e-mails asking ‘have a look at me’, but Stuart Maxfield and Ricky Barham in recruitment really know what they want.

“I’ve talked to a lot of (Gaelic) footballers while playing international rules. The problem is you won’t get a player to come over once they’re 20 because they’re settled.”