UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE of the GAA to the players he was trying to recruit was the first big lesson he took from his trips to Ireland.
A poacher of talent to some, tempting impressionable young men away from their one true path. To others, Gerard Sholly was a scout simply presenting an offer to play a professional sport. It all depends on who you’re talking to.
His job was to assess emerging Gaelic footballers for their potential to thrive in the AFL. And he went about his business while always trying to be respectful towards the sport that had molded them.
So, when Sholly identified a young Zach Tuohy as a possible recruit for the Carlton Blues club, he used the same careful approach for the acquisition. And that starts with a home visit to get the blessing of the parents.
“One thing I’ve learned when I go to Ireland is that you have to look after Mammy,” Sholly tells The 42 as he remembers his first meeting with Tuohy’s parents Noel and Marie.
“They were great from the get go. I met up with Marie and Noel a few times when they came to Australia when Zach was at the start of his career.”
Sholly picked Tuohy from the bunch while attending the 2007 All-Ireland minor football semi-final between Laois and Derry. Tuohy scored a goal for Laois that day from wing-back after previously slotting two 45s in the quarter-final against Roscommon, and another point in their Leinster final win over Carlow.
“He just showed enough in that game,” Sholly recalls of his first impressions of the Portlaoise man in the All-Ireland semi-final, “scoring off the half-back line and showing real pace and power. He just came to my attention immediately.”
Within two years, Tuohy was flying to Melbourne to begin his AFL journey with Carlton after impressing in a two-week trial despite struggling with homesickness. The fortitude he demonstrated while being weighed down by that torment was one of the reasons the Carlton chiefs wanted him on their books.
“What they saw from him was the power and the speed,” says Sholly. “And he’s a good size. Also, in those days, an 18- or 19-year-old lad on his own gutting it out is a massive tick to a club. In the committee rooms they’d be saying, ‘This kid’s pretty tough. It’s not easy to do what he’s doing. We know he’s going through issues with homesickness, and being the worst player on the pitch as well.’
“He had come from being a good player in your own county to basically being the worst player. So, Zach could survive and push through the toughness and hardships of it, knowing he had the power and speed. They had a lot of faith in him.
“It was a big ask. Despite the fact that we speak the same language and have a lot of cultural sameness, you’re still going to your room every night and closing the door and you’re by yourself. The pull from home is huge. He’s a massive supporter of the Town in his club in Portlaoise. Every single player, whether they come from Ireland or rugby league in other countries, there’s always going to be enormous pressure to come home.”
Sholly now considers himself to be “semi-retired” although he’s still involved in a talent identification programme in Ireland for the AFL. He started professional life as a PE teacher. He then got a job with the Collingwood club and eventually began working for different AFL clubs including Fremantle, Western Bulldogs and Carlton.
He has been travelling to Ireland for the purpose of talent identification sine the 1990s, and is responsible for some famous GAA to AFL transfers. Cork’s Ó hAilpín brothers Aisake and Setanta joined Carlton Blues under his watch, as did former Rebel footballer Michael Shields. Ciarán Sheehan was on course to join the Blues along with Tuohy after the both completed the same trial together, but Sheehan opted to stay at home in the end. He became an All-Ireland champion with the Cork footballers the following season, and eventually enlisted for the Melbourne-based side in 2013.
Ciarán Byrne, who recently returned to play for his native Louth, is another of Sholly’s finds for the AFL. And had injuries not derailed him, a career that is comparable to Tuohy’s could have been his.
“If I had to pick a standout player, I think it was Ciarán Byrne from Louth. He only played about 15 games and was cut short by a collection of injuries which curtailed his career and even when he went to Ireland, he’s only just made it onto the pitch for Louth this season. He could have been a Zach Tuohy, I’m pretty confident.”
Tuohy’s time in the AFL is the envy of every Irish prospect who swaps the O’Neill’s for the Sherrin. With Carlton Blues, he made his debut in 2011 and clocked up 120 appearances before joining Geelong Cats in 2016. He went on to reach his 200th AFL appearance in 2020, becoming just the second Irish-born player to do it after the late, great Jim Stynes.
Tuohy broke new ground in the 2023 season by playing his 265th game to set a new record for the number of appearances for an Irish player. Those numbers, in conjunction with his Premiership success alongside Mark O’Connor with the Cats in 2022, completes a remarkable legacy for both Tuohy, and Sholly, who opened the door for him.
“Your job is to try and identify players, and I absolutely love when the boys do well as much as the love the boys who don’t make it. The boys should be proud of what they do themselves, that’s their job. I’m proud of my job and I’m happy for them. I follow them closely and I’m thrilled for the boys when they do well.
“I’ve got huge respect for the ones who come out and give it their best. Not everybody can make it but I still the respect that they put themselves in a position to fail. That’s tough to do.”
As another generation of Irish players embark on their own AFL journey, Tuohy is now an important point of reference for them, an example of how much an Irishman can achieve in a new sport thousands of miles from home. When Tuohy first started out, players were “left to their own devices”, according to Sholly. Homesickness was something they had to self-soothe and ride out. The road ahead was a mystery with only a few examples to learn from.
“It’s a much better system these days,” Sholly continues, “so Zach was a bit of a trailblazer for some of the other boys. I know he’s certainly a port of call for Irish boys coming to Australia now, to get advice off him.
“There’s always players around who they can make a phone call to ask them about their experiences and what to expect. They’re far more attuned to what’s happening out here.”
Sholly tends to step back after his part in a new AFL international signing is complete. He kept in touch with Tuohy over the years though, and followed his career with interest. Tuohy finished up on 287 AFL matches as he was left out of selection for Geelong’s recent defeat to the Brisbane Lions which kept them out of the Grand Final.
His sense of humour made him a hit with the media, according to Sholly, while his athletic facilities never waned throughout a distinguished career that lasted 13 years. His place in the sport is chiseled in stone.
“The legacy he leaves is beyond his football career,” says Sholly. “He’s been an outstanding example of what you can achieve when you come from another country and pick up another sport, and he should be highly regarded for the example he’s set. I couldn’t speak more highly of him, I’m incredibly happy for him.”
