Last Saturday afternoon at a dry and warm Trinity College Sports Grounds, Santry a thrilling match took place.

The Swans nearly lost this game in normal time when down by 12 points deep into the final quarter. However, in the final two minutes, they scored the two goals and forced extra time. In those extra 20 minutes, they ran away from a shell-shocked Lions who must have thought they had the job done to win the John Locke O’Sullivan Cup.

The game was expected to be a tight contest after only eight points separated the sides in their most recent meeting in Dublin in September that the Swans won. The pre-match expectation was that the Swans’ tall forwards that shone in the preliminary final victory the previous week would again dominate the goal scoring.

The Lions raced into a 3.0 18 to 2.3 15 quarter time advantage.

The second quarter again saw the Swans’ smalls to the fore with Owens getting another two goals and staking an early claim for best on the ground.

Another Swans small midfielder, the impressive Connor Dunne got the other two Swans goals in the second quarter. However, at the other end, despite the best efforts of the defense, the Lions also scored four goals.

This left the half-time score Swans 6.7 43 to Lions 7.3 45.

Lions’ midfielders Kevin Jones and James Daly did some good work and they kicked four goals to the Swans’ two in the third quarter.

Again, for the Swans, it was the smalls scoring with Dunne bagging his third goal of the game and 2021 AFL Ireland Best and Fairest winner Keith Whelan getting the other one.

This left the three-quarter time score a rather worrying one for the Swans at 8.7 55 to 11.4 70 to the Lions.

This was the largest advantage the Lions had in the game and unless the Swans rallied quickly it would be game over.

It could not have been a worse start to the final quarter for the Swans with the Lions getting the first goal to push nearly four goals clear. The tall forwards finally got going for the Swans with Aussie Drew Baldwin getting his first followed by former Wexford County midfielder Rory Quinlivan getting a six-pointer.

Seamus Owens then got his fifth goal of the game, but despite the heroic efforts of the Swans to get back into it the Lions also got two more goals to maintain their three-quarter time advantage.

With just two minutes remaining it was desperate times for the Swans, then Cork native Gene Casey got a goal and gave Swans some hope.

With less than 30 seconds left on the clock and despite desperate Lions defending somehow Keith Whelan popped up to snap a goal from 30 meters out to draw the Swans level and force extra time.

Final score normal time, Swans 13.11 89 to Lions 14.5 89.

In the extra time, the switch of former UCD soccer goalkeeper Conor McGroarty from defense into attack yielded results instantly with the tiring Lions back men unable to contain the defender come attacker who got two goals in the first 10-minute half of extra time and Gavin Murray getting a third to outscore Lions 3.2 20 to 1.0 6 at the break.

The two sides were nearing exhaustion at this point but still, they fought on with another McGroarty goal putting too much daylight between the sides as

The South Dublin Swans eventually ran out convincing winners after extra time 17.13 115 to 15.6 96 for a 19-point Swans victory.

It was not all in vain for the Leesiders as their women’s team, the Cork Vikings had a convincing win in the Grand Final against Ulster Kookaburras.

Swans now look forward to being the Irish entry into the AFL Europe Champions League next April in Amsterdam, in only their second-ever appearance in that tournament.

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Ever since Ron Barassi landed on the tarmac of Dublin Airport with his recruiting team in 1982 GAA coaches, selectors and fans have feared their star players being “poached” by big spending AFL clubs from the other side of the world.

25 years on, a couple of dozen transfers around the globe and what have we learned? Well, the answer to that is in the levels of success that Irish players have achieved…or not.

The first recruits of “The Irish Experiment” were Kerry’s Sean Wight, Dublin’s Jimmy Stynes, Roscommon’s Paul Earley and Derry’s Dermot McNicholl and in a way their stories set out the path for the rest of the Irish to come.

Let’s start with the “tall, skinny lad”, the biggest success of them all: Jimmy Stynes. AFL great, club hero, philanthropist, charity worker and inspiration to thousands. Arriving in Melbourne in 1984 it took Stynes three years to break into the then high-flying Melbourne team. Starting well he cemented his place in the team and subsequently went on to become Melbourne’s go-to man and one of the greatest AFL players of all time. His career highlights include a Melbourne Night Premiership, a Brownlow Medal, two entries into the All-Australian Team and four Best and Fairest Awards at Melbourne Football Club. If you’re not up to scratch with your AFL terminology, it basically means he was beyond good. That’s not to mention his record breaking 203 consecutive games.

Before his tragic death in March 2012, Styne’s inspirational work stretched beyond the playing field as he set up The Reach Foundation, an outreach network for young people in Australia, as well as becoming the Chairman of Melbourne Football Club in 2008. Under his leadership the club refused to bow down to the AFL’s attempts to relocate them to Queensland and kept the club in Melbourne, the heartbeat of AFL.

Although often in Styne’s shadow, Sean Wight also had a large amount of success at Melbourne, playing 150 games and justifying his reputation for being a tough defender and someone that you didn’t want to come up against.

Unfortunately, the cases of Paul Earley and Dermot McNicholl weren’t so successful with the pair amassing a total of four appearances between them and returning to Ireland long before their Aussie Rule careers could have begun.

This vast gap in their levels of success seems to have carried through to the modern day as the last decade has really been a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly for the Irish down under.

When he can actually make his mind up about which sport he wants to play the most successful convert of the modern era is Tadhg Kennelly, currently on the coaching staff of The Sydney Swans. The winner of an AFL Premiership Medal in 2005, Kennelly fell just short of 200 games for the Swans in what was an injury frustrated, but nonetheless, successful career.

Our current batch down under are spearheaded by Pearce Hanley at the Brisbane Lions, Marty Clarke of Collingwood and Zach Tuohy of Carlton. Of the three, Hanley is progressing the fastest with a move into the midfield this year. He has rewarded the club by being one of their standout players in the early season, only to have been hampered by injury over the last week.

Clarke and Tuohy find themselves relatively secure in the heart of their respective defences, but are they stand out players? No. They do their jobs to a decent level, and that’s about it. However, Clarke and Tuohy have a long way to go and a lot to learn.

And that’s where we’ll find out whether “The Irish Experiment” will work or not. Development. Four more Irish players make up the 2013 lists, most of whom are still very much at this long developmental stage. The Sydney Swans are training up Kerry’s Tommy Walsh, Brian McKeever is breaking through at Brisbane and Caolan Mooney is sitting on Collingwood’s rookie list. For most, the conversion is a long drawn out affair and that’s exactly what all of the above have been finding out on the training pitch day in, day out since their move.

Last but not least is Setanta O’hAilpin, who somehow managed to put together 80 appearances at Carlton before moving to the Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2012. Since the move, he has developed a closer relationship with the club’s physio team than with his actual team mates, having only pieced together a couple of games in the Sydney suburbs. A team full of youngsters, the Giants have held onto him so that they can have a few experienced heads on the pitch. Not that he ever really plays.

So, should the GAA be worried? Is “The Irish Experiment” paying off for the AFL? The facts speak for themselves: Three converts have been successful in Stynes, Wight and Kennelly. Hanley is heading that way and Tuohy and Clarke also look on course to be decent players. O’hAilpin’s costs alone in medical fees and wages do not justify his signing to the AFL and not to mention that he beat up a teammate in an internal match at Carlton. He’s a player that clubs have viewed as someone with bucket loads of potential but at this stage it’s all too late. It’s this supposed potential that clubs hope to see in Walsh, McKeever and Mooney. It’s this potential that allows clubs to over look wasted time and money on past failed experiments like Michael Quinn, Ciaran Kilkenny and Colm Begley.

How much longer are they going to put money into a scheme that brings such inconsistent results?

There are alternatives to the Irish players out there – Aussie Rules is an expanding game. Over the past decade the AFL have created two new teams in states where Aussie Rules takes a back set behind other sports – New South Wales and Queensland. Rugby League dominates in these states but the AFL have turned this to their advantage by converting popular rugby league stars like Karmicheal Hunt and Isreal Folau to the game. Although the later has now given up on the oval park. Numbers are on the rise and the amount of kids taking up the sport in Australia is increasing. Their neighbours are taking it up too. This week St Kilda played out a thriller with The Sydney Swans in Wellington where New Zealand Prime Minister John Key stated that the country needed an AFL team.

With home grown talent on the rise, the potential of Australian rugby and basketball players changing codes, Kiwis crossing the water, only half of the AFL clubs participating in “The Irish Experiment” and with a hostile reception to scouts in Ireland it’s hard to see a large number of GAA players being recruiting over the coming years.

Maybe the biggest danger to the GAA is Ireland’s economy. The current influx of Irish immigrants are popping up in amateur Aussie Rules teams all across the country including an all Irish team, The Irish Warriors, in Sydney. It’s economics, economics, economics. It’s economics that’s making people move to Oz and it’s economics that dictates that nothing will sell tickets to the ex-pat Irish community like a local Irish lad donning a gansey for the first time in the AFL.

The success of “The Irish Experiment” relies on how the current crop of converts develop and the only way to describe that prospect is uncertain.

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TG4 is famous for their sports coverage with Wimbledon, Tour De France, Basketball finals, IABA national finals, and of course both men and ladies’ GAA.

The agreement between TG4 and the Australian Football League (AFL) will see matches being broadcast deferred each weekend as well as weekly highlights. The coverage will begin on TG4 on Saturday 30th January at 5.10pm (the full schedule for February is below).

There will be fourteen Irish players playing in this season’s NAB AFL Women’s Competition which is Australia’s national semi-professional Australian Rules Football league for female players.  The first season of the league in 2017 had 8 teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season and expanded to 14 teams in the 2020 season. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by a subset of clubs from that competition.

AFL Head of Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone said she was pleased with the announcement and looked forward to the NAB AFL Women’s Competition being broadcast in Ireland.  “We are proud to expand the AFLW broadcast to Ireland, a significant announcement for Australian Football given the impact Irish footballers have had on the NAB AFL Women’s Competition,” Ms. Livingstone said.

“We have 14 Irish players currently on AFLW lists and it is great to know that their family and friends back home will be able to watch them in action this season.”

TG4’s Head of Sport Rónán Ó Coisdealbha said: “We are extremely pleased that TG4 have agreed a deal with the Australian Football League (AFL) to broadcast matches from the NAB AFL Women’s Competition. There are a lot of players from Ireland who play in the AFLW and we would like to thank the AFL for giving us the opportunity to showcase their sport in Ireland.”

The fourteen Irish players confirmed for the AFL 2021 season are as follows:

Sarah Rowe (Collingwood / Mayo)

Cora Staunton (GWS Giants / Mayo)

Aileen Gilroy (North Melbourne / Mayo)

Grace Kelly (West Coast Eagles / Mayo)

Niamh Kelly (West Coast Eagles / Mayo)

Sinéad Goldrick (Melbourne FC / Dublin)

Niamh McEvoy (Melbourne FC / Dublin)

Lauren Magee (Melbourne FC / Dublin)

Aisling McCarthy (West Coast Eagles / Tipperary)

Orla O’Dwyer (Brisbane Lions / Tipperary)

Ailish Considine (Adelaide Crows / Clare)

Áine Tighe (Fremantle Dockers / Leitrim)

Bríd Stack (GWS Giants / Cork)

Aishling Sheridan (Collingwood / Cavan)

DATES FOR NAB AFL WOMEN’S SEASON:

Round 1  –  Weekend of 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 January

Round 2  –  Weekend of 5 / 6 / 7 February

Round 3  –  Weekend of 12 / 13 / 14 February

Round 4  –  Weekend of 19 / 20 / 21 February

Round 5  –  Weekend of 26 / 27 / 28 February

Round 6  –  Weekend of 5 / 6 / 7 March

Round 7  –  Weekend of 12 / 13 / 14 March

Round 8  –  Weekend of 19 / 20 / 21 March

Round 9  –  Weekend of 26 / 27 / 28 March

Finals series / Elimination finals  –  Weekend of 4 April  (3rd place v 6th place & 4th place v 5th place)

Finals series / Preliminary finals  –  Weekend of 10 April  (Semi-Finals,  Winner of 3rd vs 6th plays team that finished 2nd,  Winner of 4th vs 5th plays team that finished 1st)

GRAND FINAL  –  Saturday 17 April

TG4 Coverage in February

Saturday 30 January     5.10pm – full deferred coverage from a top match in the 1st round.

Monday 1 February       8pm – highlights from the weekends matches from the 1st round.

Saturday 6 February     5.10pm – full deferred coverage from a top match in the 2nd round.

Monday 8 February       8pm – highlights from the weekends matches from the 2nd round.

Saturday 13 February    5.10pm – full deferred coverage from a top match in the 3rd round.

Monday 15 February      8pm – highlights from the weekends matches from the 3rd round.

Saturday 20 February    5.10pm – full deferred coverage from a top match in the 4th round.

Monday 22 February      8pm – highlights from the weekends matches from the 4th round.

Saturday 27 February    5.45pm – coverage from a top match in the 5th round.

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Rowe has had a spectacular two season thus far in the AFL. She has come back to Ireland though the past two seasons to feature for Mayo in the championship. She was named AFLW Irish Player of the Year in April. RTE report that under normal circumstances Rowe would come home in the Spring to train with Mayo but the Covid 19 pandemic has put a halt to this meaning Mayo will likely now be playing in the winter months, when Collingwood incidentally begin their pre-season training for 2020 campaign.

Mayo manager Peter Leahy has sent out a warning that he will no longer pick player who combine inter-county football and Australian rules. Speaking to Midwest Radio, Leahy said,”We’ve made a decision that anyone who wants to go to Australia or whatever, we’d have to omit from the panel and carry on regardless because [it’s] what’s best for Mayo”. “There’s no other sport that I know of that you can play both in the same season. The demands of inter-county football is so high.”

Speaking to RTE Sport, Rowe is still uncertain what to do. She said, “The signing date for AFL is between 1 and 17 August so I have a bit of time yet. I don’t even know if they’re allowed to have conversations yet with people because everything is so unforeseen”. She continued, “It’s very up in the air as to what the future holds. For me at the moment, I’m just focusing on my club… then I’ll focus on Mayo, and then I’ll turn my sights to whatever the future holds for me but at the moment it’s all very uncertain”. “Peter has to do what he thinks is best for Mayo and what’s best for Mayo is best for me. It just means it is now more of a decision going forward.

However, Rowe is loving been back home with her club Kilmoremoy. She told RTE Sport,You really miss that side of things,” she said.  “You can train as much as you want on your own but it’s never the same as the way you train when you’re with a group of people. You’re pushed that bit harder as well. She continued, “To be back with your club is a lovely thing to do as well. “It’s very refreshing because normally you’re coming in off the back of an inter-county season, you haven’t really been there as such but now you’re with them group of players, starting with them from the start of the season, you can build that good team culture”.

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McKenna who returned home to Ireland during the lockdown was expected to feature for the Essendon Bombers in the round three game with Melbourne at the MCG. However, the 24 year old who was tested on Friday had a positive result, despite not having any symptoms forcing the AFL to postpone the game.

The Chief Executive of the AFL, Gill McLachlan, said in a statement on Saturday “Essendon player Conor McKenna returned a low-grade irregularity yesterday after being tested as part of our COVID-19 protocols,”.

McLachlan continued,The health department has been notified as per the protocols and we will be working with (them) to identify close contacts and isolate them.“At the moment all players and football department staff have been told to isolate until that work is done.” Essendon also released a statement regarding the news on their website. They said, “All Essendon players and staff were tested on Friday afternoon, with McKenna since returning the positive result. The players and staff have today been advised to isolate until further notice”.

The CEO of Essendon said McKenna will receive full support from the club. He said, “The priority is also to provide our full support for Conor and ensure his health and welfare during this difficult time for him.“Further, the club is now closed and will be thoroughly cleaned as per the Health Department requirements until further notice”.

It has yet to be revealed whether the game will be played at a later and when Essendon will be back in training.

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Kennelly who played nearly 200 games for the Swans, before retiring in 2011 has been coaching at the club since 2017. The Kerry man who won a Grand Final in 2005, worked at the club as a defence coach last season.

RTE Sport report that he was due to take up the mantle of coaching the midfield before Covid 19 ravaged through the World In a statement, Charlie Gardiner club head of football said , “We have had to combine roles and look for efficiencies where we can find them to maximise the contribution of every role within the 25 head count”. How long AFL continues will be like having a coinflip on CSGO, it could be one month or one year.

Mr Gardiner continued, “That has also resulted in the stand-down period for 10 full-time staff being extended, while a large number of part-time and casual staff are not able to be re-engaged”. The statement said as well Kennelly, two other staff members were also not reinstated, these were Stuart Maxfield (opposition analyst) and Graig Holden (Team Swans Manager).

The statement continued, “All have been wonderful servants of the club – we are feeling for them and their families.”.  In addition the statement said “we do not know what the future holds as we continue to see the landscape change due to the pandemic”. The club acknowledged that the “impact” of the changes will be felt for quite some time.

However, Gardiner did say it was good to be back in terms of training he told the Sydney Swans website, “It’s exciting to be back but there are still plenty of challenges to work through.” He continued, “We’re also working through a plan to ensure all players remain match-fit, given there will be no AFL involvement in second-tier competitions. It’s unclear what the season will look like and we need to ensure every player on our list is ready should we need to call on them.

Kennelly made history in 2009 when he returned home to Ireland to play and win the All-Ireland football final with Kerry. Kerry beat near neighbours Cork in that final 0-16 to 1-09. The Listowel man kicked two points that day.

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Gillon McLachlan said that all clubs can return to training from Monday the 18th of May. He went on to say that full contact training can resume a week later on the 25th of May. He said, “Today’s a significant step in getting footy back for everyone, our fans, clubs players, coaches … and all who love the game,”. He continued, “We know as the situation continues to evolve, we need to remain agile and flexible, to be able to adapt where necessary.”

McLachlan did state that staff and players will be tested for the virus, while also getting some education around the virus itself. The measures will mean that each player and staff member will be tested twice a week. Furthermore, he said, “We have bi-weekly testing of every player at least 24 hours before the contact sessions and we’ll have the results back before they’re allowed to do contact sessions or play games,”.

He said that a burden must not be put on the healthcare system in Australia. He stated,”We must not place any burden on the public health system,”.”Our industry understands the opportunity we have been given, we also fully understand and accept our responsibility to our football family and to the wider community.”

However, four teams based in Western Australia and Southern Australia will have to relocate in hubs in eastern states where exemptions have been granted. Fremantle and Gold Coast Suns will complete pre-training at home before moving to the Gold Coast ahead of their first games. Furthermore, Port Adelaide and Adelaide will move in the next days or so. McLachlan acknowledged that the AFL schedule will have to flexible for it to not conflict with other sports. He said, “So if it plays out that we’re coming into the T20 World Cup or racing we’ll work around it with them and we’ll get an outcome that works for sports fans and for other sports, for everyone.

Australia have faired out quite well with their lockdown procedures. For a large country they only reported 7,000 or so cases.

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According to RTE Sport the clubs and players have all agreed to take a 50% pay cut for both April and May. This of course to protect the clubs from going under in a financial crisis. Conor McKenna a former underage star is currently playing with Essendon. Essendon returned home earlier this year. He sighted homesickness for the return but he flown back to Australia a week or two later. Speaking to the AFL.com website McKenna made the decision to return to Ireland today. The website also reported that several other Irish players are also on their way back to Ireland following the Covid 19 outbreak.

Mark Keane of the Collingwood club also known as the Magpies is also returning home. Anton Tohill of Derry is also returning home. Conor Glass is also reported to be returning home to Derry. Furthermore, looking at the Women’s AFL League Dublin duo Sinead McGoldrick and Niamh McEvoy are reportedly on their way back to Ireland due to the pandemic.

It is likely the AFL will not resume till June at the earliest. The West Australia reported this.

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Sunday’s match between West Coast Eagles and Melbourne will be the final match before the AFL season goes into a temporary halt with the suspension of all games until May 31, 2020.

The AFL will review the situation by the end of April to determine whether a further suspension period would be required.

Today’s AFLW semi-final between Carlton and Brisbane Lions will be the last NAB AFL Women’s match to be played with the 2020 season ending today. Given the twin conference structure and that the finals series was not completed, the AFL Commission has determined no premiership will be awarded for this season, following a recommendation from the AFL Executive.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said the worsening situation in the community and the decision by various State Governments to close their borders meant it was time for the AFL to immediately stop the AFL and AFLW competitions.

He said all AFL club training would be suspended while the AFL worked with the clubs on the best way to manage players ahead of games being resumed. The May 31, 2020 resumption time for the season would be reviewed and – depending on the medical advice and Government regulations in place at the time – the date could be extended out.

Mr McLachlan said over the next 48 hours the AFL and clubs would detail the drastic and immediate steps needed to be taken to cut costs.

Mr McLachlan said the AFL industry was facing its biggest financial crisis in its history, but the key priority was to do everything possible to keep players, staff, and supporters healthy and well through this pandemic.

“Our industry provides livelihoods for thousands and thousands of people but our key focus at the moment – like every organisation in the country – is to do everything that needs to be done to help slow the spread of this virus and to keep people as healthy as possible,” Mr McLachlan said.

“To say this is the most serious threat to our game in 100 years is an understatement. It is unprecedented in its impact. It is unprecedented in the impact it is having on our game and the wider community, and as a community and as a code, we all need to take the unprecedented and required actions to get through this together.

“I know that everyone involved in our game and our millions of supporters will be impacted by this decision and that many people will suffer significant hardship as are people right across the community but I also know that we all have a responsibility to the community and each other. And we have the will to work collectively to overcome this crisis.

Mr McLachlan said the AFL had been given advice by the Government and the Chief Medical Officers that it was right to start the season, but that advice had also included that it would be paused at some stage.

“It was the right decision to start the season, and clearly it is now the right decision to stop. That is why we have acted immediately to take this step to play our role in the community and to protect the long-term future of our game.”

Mr McLachlan said the AFL plan was to play all remaining 144 games plus finals this year and the competition would need to remain agile and flexible on when those games were scheduled and when play returned. He said the AFL was prepared to run as late as possible in 2020 to complete the season if it was required.

He said the AFL focus over the coming days was working with the clubs to embed the medical protocols provided, finalise the operating model for the clubs during the temporary suspension period and working with funding partners to secure a line of credit to fund cash shortfalls across the industry while allowing the best possible chance for a return to football matches.

An alternative fixture based on a season of remaining 144 games plus finals, would also be worked on over the coming weeks.

Mr McLachlan thanked the Federal and State and Territory Governments for their advice and support over the past few weeks and the whole football community including broadcast and corporate partners of the AFL and clubs, members and supporters – for their support and understanding in what has been an unprecedented time in the game’s history.

“I also want to thank our staff who have been tireless in working with everyone across football through this issue. The only way that footy can find a way through is to continue to be agile, flexible and – most importantly – united.”

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1. Zach Tuohy (Geelong) – Laois man Tuohy has been in Australia for 10 years now.  Tuohy played for the Carlton Blues from 2010 to 2016. Making over 120 appearances for the side. He has been playing with Geelong since 2017 and has made 66 appearance thus far. The 30 year old Portlaoise is settled in Australia and is obviously enjoying his time playing AFL. Tuohy played in the opening round this weekend in his sides 105 to 73 loss to the GWS Giants. Tuohy got on plenty of ball but couldn’t influence a game in which the GWS Giants dominated from start to finish.

2. Pearce Hanley (Gold Coast Sun’s) – The Mayo man just like Tuohy is well settled in Australia now. Hanley played for the Brisbane Lions from 2008 to 2016 making nearly 130 appearances for the club. He has since moved to the Gold Coast Sun’s. He has made 32 appearances since 2017. The Ballaghaderreen native picked up the Marcus Ashcroft Medal in 2014.

3. Colin O’Riordan (Sydney Swans) – O’Riordan signed for the club in 2015. However, the Tipperary man had to bide time before he was given his debut which came in 2018. He  signed a two year contract extension and will remain at the club till the end of the season 2021. At present he has made 13 appearances for the club.

4. Conor McKenna (Essendon) – McKenna is now back in the fold in Essendon having took a short break home to Co Tyrone in the pre season. The 23 year old has already made 75 appearances for the club. He has been at the club since 2015. It is likely he will return to Tyrone at some stage given his age but he has still a lot to give to the side known as the Bombers.

5. James Madden (Brisbane Lions) – Dublin man Madden was drafted in 2018 by the Lions. He has yet to make his debut but has played in the NEAFL in 2019. It will likely be another year before he makes his full debut for the Lions.

6. Anton Tohill (Collingwood) – Tohill signed for the Magpies in 2018 in the draft. He has yet to make his debut for the side. He is the son of former Derry midfielder Anthony. Tohill is a super talent and is still learning his trade but he is likely to make a debut next season.

7. Darragh Joyce (St Kilda) – The Kilkenny man is enjoying life in the AFL. He made his debut in 2018 against Melbourne. He has plenty more games to be played that’s for sure. The 22 year old though may come back to his beloved Kilkenny in a few years to come as hurling will always be his first love for sure.

8. Stefan Okunbur (Geelong) – Things have gone to plan for Okunbur as he suffered an achilles tendon injury while training for Geelong back in January. He has since undergone surgery. He will likely be out until next season at the very least.

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