World Footy News

After trialling with the Carlton Football Club last year, Ciaran Byrne was back at Princes Park again in the past couple of weeks and has been confirmed as the latest Irish import to the AFL. Byrne will be officially taken in the AFL's national draft later this year as an International Rookie.

Following the last two notable failures in John Heslin and Ciaran Kilkenny at Richmond and Hawthorn respectively to make it past preseason, clubs may have become understandably shy of bringing out young homesick Gaelic footballers.

But the success this year of Pearce Hanley and Zach Tuohy would have reignited the faith that getting the right players and being prepared to be patient for the transition to be fulfilled can reap rewards.

Of course Carlton are not new in the Irish cross over game and will be glad to have locked in Byrne to the end of 2015 after Kilkenny slipped their grasp last year.

Carlton have a strong recruiting setup in Ireland and it will be interesting to see if any other clubs have a renewed interest in Irish talent.

For more on Byrne see - http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2013-08-01/ciaran-hooked-on-aussie-rules

Carlton released the following on 15th August

The Carlton Football Club is pleased to announce it has signed young Irishman Ciaran “Casey” Byrne as an International Rookie for the next two seasons.

The 18-year-old, who hails from Dundolk in County Louth, is 187cms tall with a Gaelic Football background.

His talent was first identified by Carlton recruiters at a football camp in the Irish town of Limerick two years ago.

Carlton Recruiter Wayne Hughes says since then, the Blues have been watching Byrne excel in Gaelic football.

"In his game, he's a very good player,” Hughes said. “He’s got all the athletic qualities that you look for. The ball skills and game style are the hardest things to learn.”

Byrne has been named in Ireland’s International Rules squad, from which a team will be selected to meet the Indigenous All-Stars in a two-Test series in October.

He will join Carlton players at a pre-season training camp in Arizona in December, before relocating to Melbourne early next year.  

Also the following story can be seen on the Carlton webiste  - http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2013-08-15/international-rookie-byrne-signs-with-blues