TYRONE MANAGER MICKEY Harte says he is saddened to see ex-GAA players begin to recruit from Ireland on behalf of Aussie Rules franchises, claiming the AFL and its clubs have created a ‘warm market’ within GAA ranks by deploying Irish headhunters in place of ‘unknown Australians’.
Star Tyrone forward Cathal McShane, 24, is understood to be on the brink of a switch Down Under, with the Brisbane Lions reportedly leading the charge to sign the Owen Roes clubman.
McShane was the joint-top scorer in last season’s inter-county championship along with Kerry’s Sean O’Shea, chalking up 3-48 as Tyrone bowed out at the semi-final stage.
Speaking after Tyrone’s victorious McKenna Cup opener against Cavan on Sunday, Harte told the BBC that the All-Star forward is yet to definitely decide his future, and admitted that he had attempted to ‘enlighten’ McShane as to the potential opportunities that could await him back home should he decline the change in codes.
“All I can say is that he has been wooed by some people in the AFL and I think he’s going out there for a few days to experience what that might be like,” Harte said. “There’s no final decision made yet — whether he’s going to go or whether he’s going to stay with us. But at the moment he’s certainly considering that move.
“‘Persuading’ him isn’t the right word — I was trying to enlighten him to the fact that lots of good things can happen for him staying here, and that the things that he’s going over there to try to do are very much more variable.
As you would know, I’ve not been a fan of the engagement we’ve had with the AFL over many, many years now. And I think that’s the sad thing about it: it used to be in the past [that] we had unknown Australians trying to woo our players out to their AFL league. Now we have ex-Gaelic players doing it. It really saddens me. That’s what we’ve got now: we’ve got [recruiters] for the AFL within our own ranks of the GAA, and that’s sad.
“It’s something that you know was going to happen. All you needed to do was get a few players out there first and get them involved to some degree.
We find that most of them come home and haven’t made it out there at all, and often don’t even play as-good Gaelic football when they get back. But now they’ve got a different role [available to them] — they can be agents for the AFL. And that’s an absolute free gamble for them. If our players succeed out there, it’s a cheap gamble, and if they don’t, they send them back to us to see if we can continue to play football with them.
📹 Mickey Harte's sadness at ex-GAA players doing "AFL's recruiting"#AFL #GAA #bbcgaa pic.twitter.com/c0ZLe6ZY0c
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) January 5, 2020
Harte, who has in the past criticised the GAA’s links with the AFL, admitted that his worst fears regarding the connection are beginning to come to fruition. However, the the 68-year-old stressed that his issue lies not in GAA players pursuing a professional career in sport, but rather the manner in which the AFL now harvests the GAA for talent.
He also reiterated that he would wish McShane the best should his star forward perceive the pastures Down Under to be greener than those of home.
“Always, the case was people are allowed to go and play professional sport if they so choose to do it, and I never had any objection to that,” Harte said. “But I never would have thought that another organisation should be creating a warm market for that other organisation to come and take our players.
So, yes, by all means if Cathal McShane wants to go and play Australian rules football, then that’s his prerogative to do so, and I wish him the best if he can do that. I would rather him stay at home — I think there would be a far better future for him if he stayed at home within the ranks of the GAA, within Tyrone and the whole of the country.
“We just have to take what Cathal says; he says he’s going out there for a 10- or 12-day experience to see whether it’s for him or not.
At this moment in time, he has not committed to anything other than to go there and experience what is happening, and it’ll be up to him to make that final decision. And whatever [decision] he makes, we wish him well. We wish it would be for us, but if it’s not then I wish him well with his new option, his new career.
Sickening how they’re dragging people over there and exploiting them by providing rakes of cash, world class facilities and a great lifestyle.
@The Guru: doubt the rakes of cash but everything else ok.
@Ger Buckley: if they’re any good it’s very lucrative. The average player salary is $370k.
@The Guru: He hasn’t a problem with that, he said he wouldn’t begrudge any of them going over that. His problem lies with the explayers, recruiting for the AFL, this is a valid point. In saying that the GAA needs to start thinking about financially rewarding players, at least the ones who get as far as a provincial final and so on.
How dare they offer them a wage for working. What is this world coming to.
Time to pay our inter county players on s semi-pro basis
He’s always whinging about something. Why wouldn’t ex GAA players do the recruiting. They are as he said ex players who have possibly given 10 to 15 years of their lives to the GAA without financial reward. If they now can make a few euros off the back of that then more luck to them.
@Manbackonboard: the last 20 years players are being poached from other counties and he has said nothing, now that it’s his own county he pipes up
@Patrick O Connell: wrong Patrick. He has always been against any kind of association with the afl. Constantly ridiculed the compromised rules series as he felt it was just an opportunity for the afl to poach players
@Patrick O Connell: he’s always been against it. Kyle Coney and Conor Mckenna are two of the more recent Tyrone players that had and have been snapped up by AFL. Coney took a few years to find his GAA form after returning from AFL. Mckenna is flying at Essendon
If St Jim Gavin made this point it would be taken as gospel but the fact it’s Mickey making the point means ‘ah sure he’s just whinging again’
@Mel Roberts: that’s a load of pony Mel, Gavin got as much stick as Mickey does if not more just because he’s a Dub.
ps: welcome back
@Mel Roberts: Not really though, but sure that’s more of the Tyrone “siege mentality” muck you’re usually spouting.
@my name: he definitely got nowhere near the stick Mickey has got over the years. Not even close. Only thing Gavin has ever got stick about is the fact he very rarely offers an opinion on anything. Just gave the media the usual sound bites so dunno how Gavin got any stick for offering his opinion when he never ever gave one. The league starting shortly, have to come back stir the pot for another while
@Mel Roberts: Gavin would just wish the player well
@John O Reilly: might have known you’d have to have a dig at harte. Favourite pass time of yours
The lad is 24 so he’s had time to have a good look at what’s here & what he could potentially make over there. At the end of the day it’s a big decision leaving family & friends but it is a personal decision so the best of luck to him whatever he decides. He’d be a big loss to Tyrone but maybe it’s time for some big company to offer him a job here that entices him to stay or maybe he wants to live the professional life for a while.
He’d be on less then 150k if that easily as a category B rookie he couldn’t command anything near 350k till his next contract, thats even if he makes it. Plus he would have to put in some exceptional seasons on top of that, if he is going to the Brisbane lions it will be big up hill battle to break into a top 4 team which busting at the seams with top end talent
@John Walsh: 150k as opposed to what exactly,nothing for playing for Tyrone,and swelling the GAA’s coffers !
@Gerry Campbell: I’m not against him making a $ more power to the all the players that cross codes just that commentary around it makes people believe gaa players are going to make big dollars over here its not that simple and he is a long way off from doing so, just as much as anyone else who takes a punt on an afl career.
Players like pearce hanley got big dollars because they went to poor clubs and had to be payed overs to keep talent like him which hasn’t worked out for the club in the long term because there a basket case.
But someone like zac touhy earned his big dollars after multiple good seasons at carlton who low balled him with a contract offer and geelong swooped in with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
@John Walsh: who said that it was going to be easy? All anyone is saying is good luck to him in his pursuit of those dollars.
And Mickey is not complaining about ex players getting lucrative management and training positions off the backs of current players
@Joe Clery: sorry Joe but that’s not exactly the issue at hand so why would Mickey offer an opinion on that whenever it’s got nothing to do with mcahane going to oz?
Every player is entitled to a free choice where they play Good luck to everyone
@pat seery: absolutely pat. And Mickey would agree with you too.
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Why shouldn’t Mcshane go he’s only 24 let him go get some sun in his bones and see how the other half play, if he doesn’t go he might regret it and then hate GAA and all to do with it go get it out of his system and then come back and for Tyrone if that’s what he wants Mcshane has to decide no one else can decide for him.
@Moya Power-kelly: nobody is saying he shouldn’t go Moya.