Walsh, Moran blow for Kerry

THEY may be still savouring last month’s 36th All-Ireland football title, but Kerry have suffered an early blow for 2010 with confirmation that Tommy Walsh has agreed a preliminary agreement with AFL outfit St Kilda. His club and inter-county colleague David Moran has also been offered an early trial with the same club.

Sources close to the duo confirmed that the Kerins O’Rahillys pair will leave Kerry within the next four to six weeks for Melbourne. “You can put your house on it,” said one well-placed source.

Walsh, the GAA’s young player of the year in 2008, put off a possible trip to Australia last year because Kerins O’Rahillys were involved in the Kerry SFC final. However after securing his second All-Ireland medal two weeks ago against Cork, and with O’Rahillys out of the Kerry SFC, Walsh has decided to opt for a reputed two year rookie contract, worth $80,000 (€47,000) per year.

He will sign contracts within the next month.

He will be joined on the flight down under by David Moran, who has taken a year out of his studies at UL. St Kilda have not offered Ogie Moran’s son a contract, but have pledged trials which will give him ample opportunity to secure a deal with the club. Moran’s situation is slightly different and he has no contract lined up as he did not attend trials last year due to exam commitments but the 21-year-old will be hoping to be offered a contract similar to his team-mate.

If successful, Walsh and Moran will sign contracts and return to Tralee before Christmas before departing again in January for a new life in the AFL.

“They are two 21-year-olds who owe neither the club nor Kerry football anything,” said a source.

“Tommy put his move off last year and now has an All-Ireland medal in his pocket. His qualification will be in the construction field and there are no jobs there or won’t be for a couple of years. So why not travel and sample the life of a professional athlete, and make some money as well as seeing the world? I think everyone in the county should wish them well — it’s the realisation of a dream — more luck to them.”

It is accepted that Walsh will not be available to Jack O’Connor next season while David Moran is still seen as the heir apparent to Darragh Ó Sé when the 34-year old Gaeltacht midfielder calls it a day.

Meanwhile Setanta Ó hAilpín has completed a stunning turnaround in the space of eight months with the news he has signed a two-year contract extension with AFL club Carlton.

The former hurling All-Star looked destined to follow his younger brother, Aisake, home when he was suspended for four games last February for striking and kicking team-mate Cameron Cloke in a training match. The club also sent him for anger management sessions.

Ó hAilpín impressed everyone at the Melbourne-based club with the manner in which he took his medicine and his dedication in attempting to prove his worth to the team.

He finally got a run of games at centre-forward and scored a career-high four goals against Fremantle before injury laid him low for four weeks.

He never rediscovered that form and was relocated to the forward pocket and full-back before eventually falling out of the squad when the Blues reached the finals series.

The 26-year-old did enough to convince the coaching staff that he had something to offer once he endured an injury-free run.

The player has admitted that frustration over long-standing hamstring and groin injuries, allied with the delisting of Aisake, were responsible for his altercation with Cloke.

Carlton’s football operations manager Steven Icke said the key to the Cork man’s redemption was the correct diagnosis of his leg problems, which had been caused by two blocked arteries.

“Once he got his body right, he proved what a valuable player he is to us,” said Icke. “He was just frustrated with his body.”