AFL clubs’ Irish camp targets starlets

AUSSIE RULES attempts to unearth the next Tadhg Kennelly or Martin Clarke are to mushroom in August with plans for a “draft” camp to be set up here that will run the rule over a shortlist of up to 30 young Gaelic footballers.

Ricky Nixon, Australia’s most high-profile sports agent, met with representatives of five AFL clubs yesterday — Geelong, St Kilda, Richmond, North Melbourne and Brisbane Lions — all of whom have paid $30,000 (€18,300) to sign up for the Irish recruiting scheme.

The recruitment camp is likely to be held in either Dublin or Belfast and Nixon arrives in Ireland in the next fortnight to move the project onwards.

He will not come alone. Joe Begley, a brother of former Laois and current Brisbane star Colm, will also be involved while an elite junior coach, a sports psychologist and a university professor will also travel in a party of seven.

News of Nixon’s plans is sure to cause widespread disgruntlement among clubs and counties just weeks after the confirmation that the International Rules series has been revived and will take place in Australia this October.

“I’m pretty determined to get each of our original member clubs a good player in the first 12 months. I’m committed to that,” Nixon was quoted as saying on the respected Aussie Rules website ‘Real Footy’ yesterday.

“If we don’t, it will be because the system doesn’t work and the pool’s not there, but I very much doubt that given the footage I’ve seen in the last 24 hours. It’s very exciting what some of these kids are going to be doing off half-back flanks or a wing in the next few years.”

Nixon is also hopeful that more AFL clubs will sign up to the system for, while there are already nine Irishmen on AFL rosters this season, the feeling is that the clubs have only skimmed the surface of the talent pool here thus far.

“Clubs here feel like they’ve been doing it, but they know they haven’t been doing it well. Not only that, they’re fearful of who we might have on our list and that this cartel is going to be far more attractive to a player than just one club going to see them.”

The players targeted will be in the 17-22 age bracket but most will be 19 or younger. Parents will also be invited to the trials to gain a comprehensive insight into everything involved both on and off the pitch.

A list of 100 players is already being drawn up with the aid of a Swedish software company Dartfish. AFL clubs are already using the system as a teaching tool but it has now been adapted to form a database of GAA players.

“The software tags whatever you want — kicks, marks, handballs, shots on goal, etc. It will enable us to call up, say, Bill Murphy from Dublin, and if you click on ‘kicks’, footage of all of his kicks will come up one after the other.

“You don’t need the whole game. We’ve got 100 players listed, full profiles on them, and we’ve ranked the first 15 to 20. We’ve identified a number one draft pick. He’s very quick, six-foot three, a Tadhg Kennelly type but a bit bigger.”

Nixon has admitted that the scheme has met with resistance from GAA clubs with officials fearful of losing more players of the calibre of Kennelly, the Ó hAilpíns, Begley and Clarke. He plans to meet up with GAA officials during his time here however and will be telling them that: “Anyone we take out of there will have a good chance to play AFL footy, as opposed to the amount who come across here now and end up playing VFL or in the suburbs.”