Mark Keane's desire for professional life made AFL return a 'no-brainer'

Mark Keane of the Magpies in action during the Collingwood training session in 2021   (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

A desire to return to the lifestyle of a professional sportsman was at the core of Mark Keane’s decision to return to the AFL.

Keane had been part of Pat Ryan’s Cork senior hurling panel, being trialled at centre-back, and was a central figure in Ballygiblin’s march to All-Ireland junior hurling glory but it was a “no-brainer” for the former Collingwood man to accept an offer from Adelaide once it came in.