Second Carlton start for Ó hAilpín

Setanta Ó Hailpín made his second senior appearance for AFL Premiership club Carlton at the Telstra Dome today, but he failed to make an impression in the Blues' 100-68 defeat to Hawthorn.

The former Cork hurler, who turned 23 last month, found it hard to take his form from the VFL to the big stage, with a watching 45,102 spectators at the Telstra Dome.

Had he goaled a set shot in the opening half-hour, it might have been a different story. Both Ó hAilpín and Josh Kennedy were thrown into the Carlton side with Brendan Fevola (suspension) and Jarrad Waite (quadriceps) both unavailable.

The Irishman made his AFL debut last May, kicking a goal in the round seven win over Richmond.

Meanwhile, Tadhg Kennelly, the first Irishman to win an AFL Premiership title, is set to make his first appearance of the 2006 season for the Sydney Swans on Sunday.

The Kerryman, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since early March, is likely to start off the interchange bench for the Swans' clash with Melbourne at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Swans coach Paul Roos said Kennelly will "probably play 80 to 90 minutes" as his side bid for only their second win in four Premiership outings.

Reigning champions Sydney have so far failed to hit the heights of last season, and Roos is hoping one of their 2005 heroes can lift them against the Demons.

He said at this week's media conference: "Most teams can't replace their better players - you're just looking at different ways to set up, and Tadhg is a very, very good player for us.

"He's got great pace, he's a great ball user, and he's certainly one of our most valuable players. He's a real running type of player and it's not so much the (new) rules or the game plan which can change the way you look, it's individual players that make a difference visually.

"Chris Judd makes West Coast look a different team when he's playing and Tadhg Kennelly makes us look a different team."