Tom Parsons: More can be done to ensure players 'think twice' about Aussie rules move

GPA CEO Tom Parsons said the number of players joining AFL and AFLW sides is a "huge blow to Gaelic games". Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Gaelic Players Association chief Tom Parsons has acknowledged that losing large numbers of players to Australian Rules, particularly female players, 'is a huge blow to Gaelic games'.

The former Mayo midfielder noted that his own county has been hit particularly hard with seven Mayo women, and 39 Irish players in all, competing in the AFLW this season.

On the male side, Kerry has been stripped of yet another top talent with last weekend's county SFC finalist Ben Murphy expected to sign for Brisbane Lions.

The Kingdom were already counting the cost of the drain of talent Down Under with Dingle's Mark O'Connor, who also featured in Sunday's county final, along with Cillian Burke and Rob Monahan snapped up.

Kayleigh Cronin, an All-Ireland winner with Kerry in 2024, is competing in the AFLW along with former Kerry players Paris McCarthy and Julie O'Sullivan.

"If we're losing 40 of our highest profile female Gaelic games athletes, that young people see playing and those role models are then taken out of our system, it's a huge blow to Gaelic games," said GPA CEO Parsons.

"We know how important role models are for kids to go into games, to want to go to games. We can only imagine how many kids are pulling out of their parents to go and see David Clifford play. We have amazing female players that had that same pull in Mayo, as an example, and they're all in Australia."

Various GAA figures, including Kerry's David Clifford, have suggested the idea of compensation for the clubs or counties of players that are recruited.

Parsons argued that improving the lot of inter-county players in Ireland would make them 'think twice' about leaving.

"The value proposition of being an amateur elite athlete (is important), where you can have a thriving work career, that you have a really enjoyable game and that you're not out of pocket, and that you're supported through a grant mechanism with the government, and that you have a good charter in place," he said.

"They're all things that maybe will make a player think twice. I'm sure some of the top male players that we know who have been approached and who have turned it down did so because they want to play for their county.

"And we've seen a lot of players come back who could have got contracts but who came back to play with their club and their county because they see the value.

"I think the government has a role, the government bodies have a role but we should be doing everything in our power to sell what's great about being an elite amateur athlete. To be able to represent your club, to be able to have your full athletic identity but also to have a thriving career as well.

"The data from our inter-county report showed that inter-county players started their career earning more but by the time they got to 30, they were earning less than their peers. The seven-month (season) window, even the commercial piece, players being able to bring their personal brand to the game, all these things matter and they count.

"The recognition from the government, a really good charter, really enjoying the playing rules, not training like a dog in December. I think all those factors contribute to help keep players in Ireland."