THE SPOTLIGHT HAS been trained on Kerry of late when it comes to that thorny issue of Australian Rules clubs raiding these shores for the most talented young footballers.
In Kildare football circles, they are acutely aware of how those departures can hurt a county.
Back in 2013, Kildare won the Leinster U21 football title against Longford. On that night of triumph in Portlaoise, observers scouting for senior prospects would have picked out Daniel Flynn, Paddy Brophy and Sean Hurley.
Yet rather than be a springboard for the Lilywhites, the trio instead all tried their hand at a sporting life Down Under in the intervening time.
Flynn returned from Port Adelaide last year citing homesickness. Brophy is still out there with the West Coast Eagles.
But Hurley is back and set to provide a boost to Kildare’s prospects in 2017. The Johnstownbridge club man was delisted by the Fremantle Dockers in August.
Hurley has endured a couple of injury-ravaged years which stalled his attempts to forge a career for himself.
He played 14 league games and five reserves games for Fremantle’s Western Australian Football League club Peel Thunder in 2015. But he required surgery on a hip injury in the 2016 pre-season and only managed three games for the entire year for Peel Thunder.
“Sean came back injured,” revealed Kildare coach Ronan Sweeney.
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“He went back over to get a little bit of surgery with them because they know the ins and outs of the operation.
“So he is back now in Ireland again and he is back in the squad. He is doing his rehab with us and he is 100 percent in the squad this year.
“Paddy Brophy is one you are really regretting that he went, just from a selfish point of view. Obviously, from the human side of it, all the best to him.
“He was a great player and he is a great player. A huge loss to us, but Sean is 100 per cent back at the moment.”
Paddy Brophy and Sean Hurley celebrating Kildare's 2013 Leinster U21 final win Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
Having Hurley back in the squad is one hurdle overcome but the next challenge is try and get him hitting full speed on the pitch again.
The return process is not straightforward as evidenced by Tommy Walsh’s difficulties in breaking into the Kerry side after his Sydney Swans career ended.
“He (Sean) is obviously injured at the moment but from the human side of it we are doing everything we can,” outlines Sweeney.
“He has really engaged with the GPA, in terms of practical things like preparing for job interviews and things like that.
“It is difficult because he is coming back and doing nothing while coming out of a professional lifestyle. I can’t imagine how difficult that is.
Kildare coach Ronan Sweeney James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“He is in a high percentage group who it does not work out for. It is such a different game and there is no shame in that, he tried.
“It is like the good club player over the years who never made the step-up but who made the effort, when you try that is all you can do and Sean did that.”
Through his work with the GPA and his current inter-county coaching status, Sweeney is perfectly placed to assess the subject of GAA players heading to Australia.
He understands it is a complicated topic.
Kildare's Sean Hurley up against Dublin's Cian O'Sullivan in a 2014 league game Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
“There’s a good bit of talk about it at the moment down in Kerry and that. There’s two ways of looking at it, the human side of it. It’s a bit like fellas going to America, the club players and that.
“You don’t want ‘em to go but it’s such an opportunity as well that you can’t begrudge them that kind of professional lifestyle. I don’t know whether something has to be done about it, whether it should just be up to the player or should there be some sort of transfer system put in place.
“I’m not sure exactly how it would work. But it’s a little bit easy at the moment for the Australians to just come up and pick our best players, and you can’t do anything about it.”
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Back from AFL life with Fremantle to give Kildare football a boost for 2017
THE SPOTLIGHT HAS been trained on Kerry of late when it comes to that thorny issue of Australian Rules clubs raiding these shores for the most talented young footballers.
In Kildare football circles, they are acutely aware of how those departures can hurt a county.
Back in 2013, Kildare won the Leinster U21 football title against Longford. On that night of triumph in Portlaoise, observers scouting for senior prospects would have picked out Daniel Flynn, Paddy Brophy and Sean Hurley.
Yet rather than be a springboard for the Lilywhites, the trio instead all tried their hand at a sporting life Down Under in the intervening time.
Flynn returned from Port Adelaide last year citing homesickness. Brophy is still out there with the West Coast Eagles.
But Hurley is back and set to provide a boost to Kildare’s prospects in 2017. The Johnstownbridge club man was delisted by the Fremantle Dockers in August.
Hurley has endured a couple of injury-ravaged years which stalled his attempts to forge a career for himself.
He played 14 league games and five reserves games for Fremantle’s Western Australian Football League club Peel Thunder in 2015. But he required surgery on a hip injury in the 2016 pre-season and only managed three games for the entire year for Peel Thunder.
“Sean came back injured,” revealed Kildare coach Ronan Sweeney.
“He went back over to get a little bit of surgery with them because they know the ins and outs of the operation.
“So he is back now in Ireland again and he is back in the squad. He is doing his rehab with us and he is 100 percent in the squad this year.
“Paddy Brophy is one you are really regretting that he went, just from a selfish point of view. Obviously, from the human side of it, all the best to him.
“He was a great player and he is a great player. A huge loss to us, but Sean is 100 per cent back at the moment.”
Having Hurley back in the squad is one hurdle overcome but the next challenge is try and get him hitting full speed on the pitch again.
The return process is not straightforward as evidenced by Tommy Walsh’s difficulties in breaking into the Kerry side after his Sydney Swans career ended.
“He (Sean) is obviously injured at the moment but from the human side of it we are doing everything we can,” outlines Sweeney.
“He has really engaged with the GPA, in terms of practical things like preparing for job interviews and things like that.
“It is difficult because he is coming back and doing nothing while coming out of a professional lifestyle. I can’t imagine how difficult that is.
“He is in a high percentage group who it does not work out for. It is such a different game and there is no shame in that, he tried.
“It is like the good club player over the years who never made the step-up but who made the effort, when you try that is all you can do and Sean did that.”
Through his work with the GPA and his current inter-county coaching status, Sweeney is perfectly placed to assess the subject of GAA players heading to Australia.
He understands it is a complicated topic.
“There’s a good bit of talk about it at the moment down in Kerry and that. There’s two ways of looking at it, the human side of it. It’s a bit like fellas going to America, the club players and that.
“You don’t want ‘em to go but it’s such an opportunity as well that you can’t begrudge them that kind of professional lifestyle. I don’t know whether something has to be done about it, whether it should just be up to the player or should there be some sort of transfer system put in place.
“I’m not sure exactly how it would work. But it’s a little bit easy at the moment for the Australians to just come up and pick our best players, and you can’t do anything about it.”
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