About time we got some Irish back in the squad!!

It's about time! 

2 hours ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Ireland should be part of our NGA through the Stynes connection and give us priority access.

We dropped the ball massively in this space with the Irish lads.

We should have set up a Demon exclusive academy luring all the top talent Irishmen through the Stynes connections.

Another pioneering feat by the Dees and all and sundry are in on the act reaping the benefits.

 

Edited September 25, 20241 yr by YesitwasaWin4theAges

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I've been always baffled why we we've neglected the Irish pathway considering we are the very first clubs to ever pioneer this in the 80s.

I'd take this route every single day over useless ex basketballers turned football wannabes which is pathway we've failed in the last few years.

Yep, I know we've discussed this before. We have certainly dropped the ball on this for a long time now. I hope we are ready to embrace it again. The women's team have really benefited from Goldie & Blaithin..

Edited September 25, 20241 yr by rjay

Geeze they must get crankdogs every time they loose a talent to AFL, but good on us!!!

 

Who was the last Irish player we had? Nick Walsh?

Perplexing as to why AFLM program has ignored Ireland for so long.

 

Honesty I don’t mind that we weren’t in on it until recently. Rucks are a valid use of the Cat B list, as is NGA players and the best use is probably guys like Wil Parker and James O’Donnell who were footballers growing up and then went to other sports.

Tuohy, Hanley and at a stretch McKenna have been the only Irish difference makers since Tadgh Kennelly.

3 or 4 since 2000, whilst the go home and bust factor have both been high.

That said, Irish immigration is through the roof which is mitigating the go home factor, the Irish are dominating the AFLW and the game has shifted from a focus on the ball constantly being in tight to more run and space.

That shift demands more athletes who excel in that kind of running and are confident playing out in space.

Geelong will have the advantage of an established program but I hope we can nab one of these guys if they impress.

I have often wondered if Irish recruitment costs are inside or outside the soft cap. If not it's a decent opportunity for the wealthier clubs.

Sounds like these guys will just be in the normal draft so there is no real advantage to any one club in developing a pathway.

Not even sure I like the idea of raiding the Irish Gaelic comp.

European soccer has effectively killed off Africans and South Americans seeing their stars play locally with the local leagues being a shadow of what they once were

1 hour ago, DeeSpencer said:

Tuohy, Hanley and at a stretch McKenna have been the only Irish difference makers since Tadgh Kennelly.

oisin mullin, mark keane, callum brown, mark o'connor, connor nash all been terrific pick-ups in the last few years

i personally wouldn't be surprised if the success of irish women coming into aflw sees more men exploring their opportunities to come into aflm

28 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

oisin mullin, mark keane, callum brown, mark o'connor, connor nash all been terrific pick-ups in the last few years

i personally wouldn't be surprised if the success of irish women coming into aflw sees more men exploring their opportunities to come into aflm

Bunch of role players, with speed.

We could use some role players with speed.

1 hour ago, whatwhat say what said:

oisin mullin, mark keane, callum brown, mark o'connor, connor nash all been terrific pick-ups in the last few years

i personally wouldn't be surprised if the success of irish women coming into aflw sees more men exploring their opportunities to come into aflm

Mullin’s promising. Brown’s in the 2’s. O’Connor seems to have peaked. Nash took 6 years to becomes a decent defensive mid but has a battle to hold his spot.

Keane has the most promise but walked out on the Pies, wait and see if he hits consistently now he’s signed up for the Crows for a while.

They’re all good enough to suggest what was still an experiment from the 00’s and 10’s is now looking a more worthy project. But there’s no stars (yet).

Dubliner impresses at AFL combine, Derry star set to return to club action

 

On 19/04/2024 at 10:52, Palace Dees said:

So sad to think that we've missed the boat that we built.

Tragically, both our great Irish recruits met very premature deaths 😪 .

6 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Tragically, both our great Irish recruits met very premature deaths 😪 .

As did the GOAT - Tulip. 

I still grieve. 

On 19/04/2024 at 10:36, No. 31 said:

 

And...?

We're doing alright on the distaff side. Geez, Sinead and Blaithin are fun to watch and becoming / have become some footballers. Aimee around the corner again in Season 9, too.

(Could we also add today's debutante, too? Cos the Celticy name?)

Edited October 19, 20241 yr by Timothy Reddan-A'Blew

Would love to see a fee more Irish stars in the Demons AFL side again.

The Demons should look to set up a Jimmy Stynes & Sean Wight Academy for young Irish players to be part of. However, I understand that would be quite an expensive project to implement.

From afl.com.au (Kevin Sheehan)

David Colbert
Country: Ireland
State League Club: County Dublin
Community Club: Kilmacud Crokes
Date of Birth: 04/03/2004
Height: 185cm

A dual sport athlete who represented Ireland in the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa and is also a Gaelic football star at club and county level. He has been developing his AFL skills over the past two years and uses his explosive speed, elite step and evasive skills to break open the play. Adapted to the oval ball very quickly in tryouts at AFL clubs conducted prior to the Draft Combine and was very impressive during testing at the national Combine event, recording 2.97 seconds for the 20m sprint (ranked ninth) and an impressive 6:29 in the 2km time trial which confirmed his endurance. Is looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Hawthorn's Conor Nash with his Irish heritage and elite rugby and Gaelic football background.

Eoin McEvoy
Country: Ireland
State League Club: County Derry
Community Club: Magherafelt
Date of Birth: 02/10/2003
Height: 189cm

Another Irishman looking to follow in the footsteps of recent AFL premiership players Conor Mckenna, Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor. Gaelic footballer who has played as a key defender at senior county level for Derry.
Has the ability to compete well in one-on-one contests, intercept with his anticipation and then break the lines with his pace. Has also shown an ability to hit the scoreboard with his running ability and game awareness. Was presented a Player of the Month award at national level this year as Derry won the Provincial Championships in Ulster and went deep into the All-Ireland Championships and was previously selected in the 2020 All-Ireland Under 17 team when Derry won the Championship at that level. Impressed in skill workouts with clubs before the Draft Combine and then produced a solid showing in the 2km time trial during testing with a run of 6:37.

With the news that Andy Moniz-Wakefield needs to be moved out of Category B rookie status, there are definite vacancies at the club for players in this category. The club might also be restricted to only two primary list selections in the main draft, so it’s the perfect time to revive the club’s interest in the Irish experiment for men which we started forty years ago. Let’s do it!