AFL star Kennelly urges return of Series
Tadhg Kennelly, the only Irish man to win a Premiership title, believes a failure to restart the troubled competition will create ‘a no holds barred’ approach from Australian clubs keen to poach young Irish talent.
Croke Park and AFL bosses are keen to restart the annual event however many county boards are strongly opposed to a revival including Kennelly’s native Kerry who are worried about the threat of injury and the impact of another competition in an already crowded fixtures schedule.
Kennelly, who won Australia’s equivalent of a Celtic Cross with the Sydney Swans in 2005, is adamant the GAA must look at the bigger picture.
He said: “The people who believe scrapping the International Rules Series will end recruitment of players are not living in the real world.
“Not one player has ever been recruited from the International Rules.
“If the Series is revived then recruitment will be monitored and structures will be put in place and there will be none of this hiding and under the table stuff that is going on.
“If the Series is ended, then you will have a no holds barred situation and I’d say that recruitment of players from Ireland will triple.”
And he stressed that the existing recruitment campaign is not as orchestrated as many GAA officials fear.
“At the moment only a handful of clubs are doing it. It is still in the early stages, and if you look at the last 20 years I’d guess about 20 players have been signed up by clubs. And of that 20 only one in five make it at the top level.”
He claimed: The guys who don’t make it go back as better Gaelic footballers. Just look at Anthony Tohill, Brian Stynes and Colin Corkery. I think the GAA should be more worried about the threats from rugby and the soccer than Australian Rules.”
He continued: “Another reason the Series should be revived is that it gives players the chance to play for their country. There are guys from counties with little chance of winning an All-Ireland getting the opportunity to represent Ireland. What player doesn’t want that?”
Kennelly, who was signed by the Swans in 1999, says subtle rule changes will ensure that future Series will be safer and more enjoyable.
“I’ve talked to players and AFL guys who were in talks with the GAA in Dubai and they’re really keen to get this back. The big thing is to get rid of the tackle — which will mean no more slinging players to the ground like what happened to Graham Geraghty two years ago. No one wants to see what happened in 2005 and 2006. I was disgusted by it all and so were a lot of the Australian players.”
He is certain that Australian players can adapt to new legislation.
“We train every week with no tackle. There is still physical contact, you can grab a fellas hands or his torso but you can’t throw him to the ground. It would be a cross between gaelic football and basketball.”
He revealed: “The Australian players are very, very keen to get the Series going again. It gives you the opportunity of playing with the best players and more importantly learning from the best players.”
Kennelly, who endured a miserable 2007 after a serious knee injury, is looking forward to a new season which kicks of on March 22 against St Kilda.
“The knee is coming on great. I had an operation six months ago and thankfully the recovery has gone according to plan. I played a full 80 minutes last week and will play another reserve game next weekend. It has been a long road back and now I can’t wait to get back playing football.”
Kennelly has hinted he may quit the Swans at the end of the season and return to Kerry in his quest to emulate his late father Tim and brother Noel in winning an All-Ireland SFC medal with Kerry.
“I have a big decision to make at the end of the season. I’ve put it to the back of my mind as I have been trying to get the knee right. But I hope to make up my mind by September.”
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