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Last year's Kerry minor football captain Mark O'Connor. Ryan Byrne/INPHO

One of Kerry's brightest young talents is heading to Melbourne for trials with AFL clubs

Dingle’s Mark O’Connor will get a chance to impress in Aussie Rules.

ONE OF KERRY football’s brightest young talents is set to try his hand at Aussie Rules as he heads to Melbourne for trials with AFL clubs.

The 2015 All-Ireland minor football winning captain Mark O’Connor is to become the latest young Irish player to be looked at by Australian Rules sides.

“I am heading to Oz shortly for two weeks,” revealed O’Connor.

“Nothing major just going to a few clubs and that. I have made no commitments so no decisions reached yet.

“I will be over in Melbourne for October 2nd but I don’t know the clubs I am visiting yet to be honest.”

UL student O’Connor is a brilliant midfield prospect who has burst to prominence in recent seasons.

He captained Kerry to last year’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor football title and was the man-of-the-match winner in that final success over Tipperary. In 2014 he also played midfield in Kerry’s minor final win over Donegal.

In addition O’Connor won Hogan Cup medals in Croke Park with PS Chorca Dhuibhne in 2014 and 2015, while also claiming the man-of-the-match award in both of those finals.

Last spring O’Connor played at U21 level for Jack O’Connor’s Kerry squad and hit the net in their Munster final defeat to Cork. This summer he was drafted in to the extended Kerry senior panel by manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice.

The trip Down Under will see O’Connor miss out for his club Dingle in their Kerry senior football quarter-final against reigning champions South Kerry on Saturday 1 October in Austin Stack Park.

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9 Comments
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    Mute Camroc
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    Sep 26th 2016, 6:31 PM

    Mike Ditka is an idiot. His response was entirely predictable.

    Unsure where this protest is going. Aside from anything else, it’s been fun to see the likes of Ditka, Jerry Jones etc. get their knickers in a twist.

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    Mute Kris Ertz
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    Sep 26th 2016, 7:31 PM

    It really is quite scary how jingoistic some old people in America are. It’s a feckin national anthem lads, get over yourselves. There are things bigger than you or it.

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    Mute Robert O Farrell
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    Sep 26th 2016, 8:17 PM

    Kapernick is fast turning into an absolute hero. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your country and it’s military, but putting a flag and some quaint old song ahead of people’s lives has no place in today’s society.

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    Mute ET PHONE HOME
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    Sep 26th 2016, 10:06 PM

    Think the whole thing a class issue rather than a racial issue. The entire protest is a load of codswallop.

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    Mute Conor Murray
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    Sep 27th 2016, 9:31 AM

    @ET PHONE HOME: Class and race go hand in hand in America

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    Mute eddie kenneally
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    Sep 26th 2016, 8:10 PM

    Facts please Stephen.
    Not your opinion!

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    Mute David O Connor
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    Sep 26th 2016, 8:41 PM

    It’s marked as an opinion piece…

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Sep 26th 2016, 8:53 PM

    Hi Eddie,

    A) It’s an opinion piece as Redzone has been for five years now.

    B) It’s clearly marked as opinion piece.

    C) As for facts, Keith Lamont Scott was shot dead by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, Mike Ditka is an idiot and Colin Kaepernick has right on his side. Not sure what more ‘facts’ you need.

    D) Have a nice evening.

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    Mute Miall Noloney
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    Sep 26th 2016, 9:42 PM

    Oooooo, that’s a deep burn Eddie….

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    Mute Brown Boots
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    Sep 26th 2016, 9:46 PM

    Are those Eddie’s options? I would go with E. Read the piece first before commenting! I ain’t no journalist writer type person but it’s always best to leave out such things as calling someone ‘an idiot’, regardless of how true it may be, it just stoops to a level it doesn’t need to go. ‘The moral high ground to which you aspire could turn into into a slippery slope.’ As for my option… I’m gonna pick D.

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    Mute John Mitchell
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    Sep 26th 2016, 10:03 PM

    Another fact might be that he had a gun and disobeyed both the police officer and his relative who were shouting at him to stop multiple times. Another fact might be that 5 white men were also shot dead by police the same day. Another fact might be that not one of those shootings resulted in race riots where black people were getting attacked by vicious mobs of whites, looting stores, destroying public and private property. A reactive opinion on those facts might be that were such riots were to take place the people perpetrating them would not be mollycoddled by the media and referred to as “protesters”. There are 2 sides to every story. I respect your opinions and thank you for writing the article but my personal assessment of the facts leads me to a conclusion different to yours. Which I am sure you will respect also.

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    Mute Conall Finn
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    Sep 27th 2016, 12:19 AM

    What the some of the cops have been doing is totally wrong but there are 30 shootings plus a week in Chicago black/black crime and there has never been any protests about it.
    They are all on the bandwagon at this stage. CK tryna be relevant because he hasn’t been that on a football field in almost 3 years

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    Mute PScald
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    Sep 28th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Colin Keapernick is performing a peace civil protest designed to engage. It’s worked, it seems blacks aren’t allowed to protest peacefully or with violence without criticism. Fyi, there have been many many protests about crime in Chicago and beyond. You just don’t hear about it, why? Because their black and Noone gives a chit….. until those protests are about the white establishment.

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    Mute Robert O Farrell
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    Sep 26th 2016, 11:00 PM

    I think one thing everyone can probably agree on is that the race issue and trouble at the moment in the US is one hell of a complex , emotive and deeply polarising subject. Rights , wrongs , double standards and hypocrisy on both sides.

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    Mute Barry Newell
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    Sep 26th 2016, 11:03 PM

    YouTube Shannon Sharpe he’s brilliant at explaining. You will understand it after.

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