Nixon set to star in AFL scouting documentary

CONTROVERSIAL Aussie Rules agent Ricky Nixon is set to star in a new three-part documentary which begins screening on RTÉ 2 on Sunday night at 9pm.

The Oz Factor tells the story of Nixon’s quest to entice the brightest young talent in GAA to a full-time professional sports career in the AFL. From an initial list of 80, Nixon trawls through the best young Gaelic footballers in Ireland to see who can make it as a professional in Australia and in the process stirs up plenty of controversy amongst GAA followers.

Nixon was followed in his quest for over a year and in the series also features Tyrone manager Mickey Harte, who has been a noted critic of Nixon’s plans. In the first episode, Nixon arrives in Ireland with representatives of AFL clubs to set up recruitment trials. He faces the media to answer questions about his practices while his chosen group of GAA players are brought to a training camp in Castlebar and put through their paces to see if they have what it takes to be selected for trials in Australia.