Life is not all so rosy for the AFL’s Irish recruits

ONE of the important points of discussion between the AFL and the GAA in Australia concerned the active recruitment of Gaelic players to the AFL.

Andrew Demetriou of the AFL was quick to point out that without a strong relationship with the GAA, there was nothing they could do about it. In other words, the series continues or, otherwise, it’s open sesame for Ricky Nixon and the other recruiting agents. As part of the agreement to continue the series, the AFL are looking at banning recruitment of Under-19 players. This is in line with what was agreed in 2005, when the GAA and the AFL agreed not to allow any recruitment until players had finished their education. Hopefully, the situation will be resolved satisfactorily because if an adult player genuinely wants to go and play in the AFL, then he is entitled to do so. But naked poaching by Nixon et al is a different matter.

However, I was a little surprised at the impact, or lack of it, that Irish players have made in the AFL. Down’s Martin Clarke, who only went down under last year, is already the fourth most capped Gaelic recruit with 34 appearances — an astonishing achievement. Clarke is one of the biggest losses to the GAA — and particularly Down — of all the players that went to Australia from Ireland. I had the pleasure of presenting him with his All-Ireland Colleges medal during my presidency and the school principal told me that not alone was he the best footballer in the school, he was also head-prefect and academically the brightest as well. No wonder, then, that he has made such an impact in AFL in such a short space of time.

The three players ahead of Clarke on the caps list are Jim Stynes, whom the Aussies adore, on 264 games, Tadgh Kennelly with 158 games, his fellow Kerryman Sean Wright on 150 games and Setanta Ó hAilpín, who has played 46 games for Carlton since 2004.

Colm Begley, who has just been delisted and may return home, has played 29 times for Brisbane Lions. But the amazing statistic is the other recruits have only seven games between them. Dermot McNicholl played three games for St Kilda’s, Brian Stynes two for Melbourne and Pearce Hanley two for Brisbane. All the others either never made it or returned home before they got the opportunity. Thus such big names as Anthony Tohill, Michael Shields, Colin Corkery, Kevin Dyas, Brendan Murphy, Aisake Ó hAilpín, Declan O’Mahony, Nicholas Walsh, Bernie Collins, Niall Buckley and Tom Grehan never played an AFL first-team game for the clubs that recruited them. Recruitment hasn’t been the glorious success we tend to believe. Like in English soccer, we only hear about the few that make it. The rest slip quietly off the radar.