Roos plays down trip to ‘support’ Kennelly

SYDNEY SWANS head coach Paul Roos has played down the significance of his trip to Ireland this month where he will take in Tadhg Kennelly’s attempt to win an All-Ireland title.

The Listowel player cut short his AFL career late last year to return home in search of a Celtic Cross but speculation has persisted about a possible return to Aussie Rules should he achieve that ambition.

“I want him to focus on the game, make sure he fulfils his dream, that’s all I really want,” Roos said. “I’ll be rapt if they win.”

Roos has been asked about Kennelly’s possible return on numerous occasions but has always made it clear that no pressure will be put on the Irishman’s shoulders.

“If this comes up in conversation or if he brings it up, well, that’s fine, but I certainly won’t be bringing it up,” Roos said. “It’s more out of respect for him.

“I just want to make sure he knows we’re there to support him. That’s the real reason for the trip. We’ve been mindful all along, Tadhg’s decision was made knowing he would never play for the Swans again. That’s the way we’ve looked at it all year and that’s the way he needs to continue to look at it.

“If he fulfils his obligations and has a change of heart, then we can sit down and have a talk to him but we’re not going over there to try to convince him to come back.

“If, over the next three, four or five weeks, he wants to come back to Australia, well, then we’ll sit down with him. We’ll see how his body is, but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge.”

Meanwhile Derry manager Damian Cassidy has questioned the GAA’s relationship with the AFL after promising youngster Chrissy McKaigue signed a two-year international rookie deal with the Swans.

McKaigue, 20, has long been a target for AFL clubs and in 2008 he spent two weeks on trial with the Swans. He made his championship debut for Derry last summer in the qualifier defeat to Monaghan, and was an increasingly important figure in Cassidy’s squad throughout this year. The Slaughtneil man said yesterday that his mind had been made up ages ago, and that he will head for Oz at the end of October to follow in the footsteps of the country’s two most successful exports, Kennelly and Martin Clarke.

“I’d been in contact with them, obviously last year and then in the middle of July, and I signed a contract with them last week.

“I didn’t really speak to many people or tell too many about it, but I had my mind made up a good while ago that I’d be going. It’s a two-year contract initially but I intend to be out there for a lot longer.”

Cassidy said that in McKaigue’s shoes, he would have done the same thing, but called on the GAA to review their relationship with the AFL.

“It’s a big loss for us, and it’s a loss that Derry can’t afford. We’re not a Kerry, we’re not a massive county where everyone’s playing gaelic football. Chrissy has really developed with us, and he has the height, the athleticism, the physique and the decision-making ability. But there comes a time when you have to look at what’s happening. It’s all well having good relations with these people and being friendly but when the relationship affects you like this, when you’re losing a player like this, questions have to be asked.

“I’m sure the people in Slaughtneil who have put all the time into the coaching and watched him coming up through their underage will be peeved off.

“Not at Chrissy, they won’t be annoyed at him. Every single one of us would do the exact same thing, I’m not going to knock him. He’s got an opportunity to go to Australia, to train and play football every day as his main source of income. If I was in his position at 19 or 20 years old and being offered that chance, I’d do the same thing.

“But there are two sides to the story. There’s the story of the opportunity for Chrissy and there’s the story of the heartbreak for the club. The reality is that if he wasn’t going to Australia, Chrissy has the potential to be the best footballer that Slaughtneil has ever produced. To have a player like that and to have worked hard on bringing him through and then not be able to reap the benefits of that will hurt Slaughtneil right to their core.”