The future of the Irish in the AFLW: ‘In my head, 50 is a figure that will be achieved’

Mike Currane, the talent ID and skills coach, says Irish player can make an instant impact in the league.

CODEBREAKER: Sinead Goldrick of the Demons in action during the 2022 AFLW Season 7 Grand Final against the Brisbane Lions. Pic: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Take a player who tried it both ways. Once, she stayed at home for the full intercounty season and crossed the world when it was done. The next, she gave herself to a full AFLW preseason. The contrast could not be starker.

Fermanagh and North Melbourne forward Blaithin Bogue has scored three goals in two games since making her debut earlier this month. She was late joining in her rookie season, having won the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship before departing. Bogue did not feature at all in 2024.

“The ever-expanding AFLW season has really had an impact,” says Mike Currane, the talent ID and skills coach behind the AFLW Ireland social media page.

“We noticed that this year more than ever. We had nine players go over this season, but all nine had to renegotiate their contract based on the change in the season. The season expanded by a further two rounds, which meant another two weeks, plus two weeks of pre-season. That is a month longer.

“As the season grows, the crossover is a lot more. That has impacted the stage at which players go over. In certain cases, depending on the experience of the player, on a club-by-club basis, the likes of Vicki Wall and Sinead Goldrick can play on until the final, but in general the newer players have to make a decision.

“For the majority, clubs are now expecting players to be in Australia for the start of the season. That flexibility to do both is lessening and will continue to do so.” 

Currane has been invested in Australian Rules for two decades, now working as an intermediary between AFL clubs and Irish talent. He has witnessed the complete transformation that the league and the pathway has undergone in recent seasons.

The competition has expanded and will do so again with a Tasmania Football Club set to join from the 2027 season. The AFLW has advanced towards full professionalism. Its season has shifted. Even still, eight years after Cavan native Laura Corrigan Duryea became the first Irish player in the AFLW, this island continues to send elite talent Down Under.

“In my head, 50 (Irish players) is a figure that will be achieved, probably across the next few seasons. You have expansion, you could have squad sizes increase.

“I saw 40 as the big number a few years ago. It took time to get there, but it is almost there. There are 39 Irish players on lists this year and 42 in total if you factor in the few inactive players on lists. That is up from 33 active players last season.

“It will go over 40 in 2026 for sure. There are things coming down the track that will impact that significantly. Part of that is expansion with another team coming on board in the Tasmania Devils. We also have a scenario where the current CBA from 2023-2027 is coming towards an end. Already we have clubs and the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association talking about what the next version of that is going to look like.” 

Such a volume operating in a still-developing league on the other side of the world is a remarkable thing to comprehend. It should be said that not all of the 40-odd Irishwomen Down Under currently were directly plucked from the LGFA. Several, like Donegal’s Tanya Kennedy or Armagh’s Amy Mulholland, emigrated and eventually found their way to the oval ball. Others, like Galway basketball talent Aine McDonagh, left football for a different sport before eventually pursuing AFLW.

And yet, the days of balancing county commitments are coming to an end. It was interesting to hear North Melbourne coach Darren Croker publicly declare why Meath star Vikki Wall was not selected in their side for the opening round of the season.

“Culturally, we think it’s better for our group to reward the players who’ve been here right throughout the whole pre-season and done all the work,” he said.

The need for Irish prospects to bolster squads won’t last forever. A recent ‘Super draft’ is already coming to fruition as academy graduates start to rise to the top. Some of the more experienced Irish players will naturally begin to gravitate back as their stint comes to an end. Previously, clubs went searching for the biggest stars or a prospect who could fill a spot.

Now they have started to tailor their scouting. A certain athletic profile is starting to develop, as it did in the men’s code. Tall (around 180cm), fast and athletic players are in fashion currently. In Currane’s work, he is starting to see how certain types of players suit certain clubs.

“What is interesting from an Irish point of view is that they are still bringing something that makes an instant impact,” he says.

“It might not necessarily be the biggest names at home. Amy Gavin Mangan from Offaly was recently recruited for her speed, she made her debut and we are already seeing that pace come to the fore. There were nine new players this season and six have already debuted by Round 2. Teams still know that Irish players can have a big impact on their list.” 

As long as that is the case, they’ll continue to come calling.