AFL champion Zach Tuohy set to match historic Jim Stynes record 

The Laois native is will equal the AFL's Irish appearance record.

MILESTONE: Laois man Zach Tuohy will match the Melbourne legend's appearances. 

Premiership winner Zach Tuohy will play his 264th game on Friday, matching Jim Stynes’ appearance record for an Irish player in the AFL.

The Laois star is one of three Irishmen to have won a Grand Final. He is now set to make more history as he closes in on the Irish appearance record. It is currently held by the late Stynes, who won a Brownlow Medal, four best and fairests and All-Australian selection twice during his 264-game career with Melbourne.

“I think it is something people forget about when you see Irishmen playing with teams. They almost forget and think they are one of their own,” Kerry legend Tadhg Kennelly told Australian Radio station SEN this week. The former All-Ireland and AFL Premiership winner is currently a coach at the Great Western Sydney Giants academy.

“It is only when the milestones come along you start to realise the challenges and difficulties of coming from the other side of the world playing a different sport. It is often not celebrated and I’ve brought it up in the past as a player and since I’ve retired with players associations in the AFL, I’m not too sure we do it well enough. I would be a bit biased but (properly) celebrating Irish players coming out, both men and women.” 

Kennelly went on to hail Tuohy’s career.

“Clearly, he is competitive and clearly he has made a big impact in the game. Often it is underestimated I feel from an Irish perspective. I’m glad himself and Mark won a Premiership last year. His achievements are incredible. His body and endurance for a man who played a lot of sport as a young fella, to come out and still play at 33 years of age.” 

Tuohy first joined Carlton and played 120 games before joining Geelong at the conclusion of the 2016 season. The former Laois minor footballer has been named as one of the interchanges in the team to play Sydney Swans. Kerry’s Mark O’Connor is ruled out due to an adductor injury while Mayo rookie Oisin Mullin could feature having been named as an emergency. The Cats will name their substitute one hour before it kicks off.

The fixture is a rematch of the 2022 AFL decider which ended in an 81-point victory. It is live on BT Sport 1 with first bounce at 10.50am Irish time.