Kerry duo Evan Boyle and Daniel Kirby offered contracts from AFL club 

AFL-BOUND? Daniel Kirby of Kerry catches a kickout ahead of teammate Evan Boyle and Darragh Clifford of Cork. Pic:  Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Kerry’s U20 All-Ireland winning midfielders Evan Boyle and Daniel Kirby have each been offered a contract from an AFL club, the Irish Examiner understands.

The pair, who were selected in the U20 team of the year following Kerry’s final win over Tyrone, have attracted concrete interest from Australia and are now weighing up the offers.

Ballyduff’s Boyle is also a member of the Kerry senior hurling panel, while Austin Stacks’ Kirby is the son of two-time All-Ireland SFC-winning midfielder William.

Kerry currently have four players contracted to AFL clubs - Mark O’Connor (Dingle, Geelong), Cillian Burke (Milltown-Castlemaine, Geelong), Rob Monahan (Kilmoyley, Carlton) and Ben Murphy (Austin Stacks, Brisbane Lions).

Tommy Walsh and Tadhg Kennelly are among the 10 from The Kingdom who have signed for AFL outfits since Seán Wight in 1985.

Boyle and Kirby’s U20 manager Tomás Ó Sé has been an outspoken critic of AFL clubs’ recruitment of Gaelic footballers.

Early last year, he hit out at the behaviour of one franchise in approaching one teenage player.

“I know for a fact that there’s an U20 player in Kerry being rang by coaches from an Australian club telling him how he did in matches after watching him on Clubber.

“I don’t know what the rules are, but if it was soccer or rugby I don’t think they’d be allowed to do that when a fella is doing his Leaving Cert.

“Don’t get me wrong, fellas think I’m completely against going out, but if the offer is there I’d always wish him all the best and hope they are a success out there.

“But as a Kerry man, I hate the way it’s done, I just hate the way there’s 15 years going into a young fella and it’s just, ‘Oh yeah we’ll have that fella there and we’ll shoot off’.” 

Last December, Kerry chairman Patrick O’Sullivan revealed there were two further players being scouted following Murphy’s switch to Brisbane.

“The players have benefitted from their GAA clubs’ investment in strength and conditioning programmes as well as our own at county level,” he pointed out. “They have never been physically better. I won’t say they are ready-made for the switch to Australian Rules but these AFL clubs are no longer experimenting coming to Ireland. They are no longer taking a punt.” 

O’Sullivan continued: “Mickey Harte said years ago we were better off having nothing to do with the Australians. From where we sit here at the minute, it is hard to disagree. We are but a soft and easy recruiting target for the AFL and the GAA can’t just pretend nothing is wrong.” 

This past weekend, Melbourne-based AFL club Richmond held a combine in Athlone, which was reportedly attended by several players including two from Dublin, senior footballers Charlie McMorrow and Tim Deering. 

The county’s U20 starlet Cian Raftery is believed to be on the radar of the Sydney Swans.

The GAA remain in negotiations with the AFL about regulating the recruitment of Gaelic footballers to Premiership clubs.