AFL agent Nixon tips Moran for return to Oz

KERRY have already lost a handful of their victorious 2009 squad and they may face the prospect of losing David Moran to Australia at the height of this season’s All-Ireland championship.

The Kerins O’Rahillys club man had a first trial with Tommy Walsh’s club, St Kilda, late last year and, according to player agent Ricky Nixon, he could well travel down under for another as early as this summer.

“He might be brought out in the middle of this year or later in the year,” said Nixon, “I’m not too sure. I can’t speak on behalf of the club because it’s their decision. My job is to identify the talent.

“David handled himself extremely well when he was over here and he probably got the same shock of his life, like everyone gets, when he came over for the trials late last year. When Tommy came out the year before for training, he got a pretty big shock. The same for Aidan O’Shea from Mayo.

“But the good thing is that David now has 12 months to get himself as fit as he can and ready to play. There is no doubt he has the ability, the physical size and the strength to make it. We are still pretty excited about David’s prospects,” he told The Kingdom.

Nixon has also revealed he will be making his next scouting trip to Ireland within the next month and suggested a number of new, young players have recently come to his attention.

With a number of Gaelic football players cutting their time in the AFL short recently, there was a feeling that the ‘Irish Experiment’ had run its course but Walsh’s arrival seems to have rekindled interest.

“There is no doubt that Tommy coming over will open the floodgates a little bit. Over the last few years there has been a nervousness from some players when they are coming for trials but now it’s a case of ‘how quick can I get there?’ It’s exciting for the young kids because it’s a chance to play a professional sport. I read some comments from Mickey Harte lately and it’s the same old comments again but I understand Mickey’s frustration because he wants to keep young players there.”

Walsh has, by all accounts, adapted quickly to life on and off the pitch at Melbourne where he has been christened Ivan by his teammates in reference to the Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV.

The former young footballer of the year was rightly regarded as a significant capture for the Aussie game and is expected to make his senior bow for St Kilda in the coming weeks in the pre-season NAB Cup “There is a very genuine excitement surrounding him,” said Nixon. “Everyone feels it. Just the other day, he came into the office and some of our new staff were really interested in him. He is a terrific guy.

“Tommy has obviously come to Australia with a lot of accolades and come with a high profile, bigger than someone like (Down’s) Jamie O’Reilly at Richmond.

“Jamie isn’t being recognised as an up-and-coming superstar, yet he has played a practice game already, and played very well.

“They are different players as well as Tommy, hopefully, will become a power forward. At the moment, St Kilda are trying to make sure that he can get the basics of the game right before we get ahead of ourselves.”

Walsh has already passed his first test by navigating his way through the first weeks of training without picking up an injury, something which happens to many an Irish recruit unused to the professional training regime.

However, Nixon has warned that expectations need to be realistic.

“He is nervous. We are all nervous about him playing his first practice game in a few weeks time because he hasn’t played AFL before. People need to be patient and understand that you can’t just click your fingers and instantly become a great AFL player.

“Tadhg Kennelly is a fantastic example of someone who has come from Ireland and was able to convert to our game but Tadhg didn’t do it in one week. We have to be patient with Tommy. We will know more about Tommy when he has played one or two practice games,” he explained.

Should everything go to plan, Walsh will break the mould thanks to his height, bulk, athleticism and talent which could see him feature in the forward line. “I haven’t really seen someone like Tommy come out of Ireland before. Jimmy Stynes probably had a pretty similar build, maybe a bit taller. Most of the Irish that come over have been smaller, powerful, compact type of players. Tadhg Kennelly is your more athletic, skinnier player.

“Tommy is the first player that has that size about him, as well as the power and speed. Nobody in the history of the AFL has come from Ireland and played up forward. No one. That tells you what we are dealing with here.

“If he can make it, then Tommy has a massive future in front of him but it’s going to be tough. He is at a club that probably has the best forward in the game in Nick Riewoldt so it’s not going to be easy but he is doing everything right at the moment.”