World Footy News

 

Anthony Redmond has compiled the following list of Irish players for the Sports News Ireland website. Whilst the information on each player is brief, the link to the original article is valuable as it contains a small video story about each player. The original article can be accessed by clicking on the following link: https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/other_sports/aussie-rules-list-of-irish-players-in-the-afl-2019/  

The article does not look into the Irish women playing in the AFLW, though this may be investigated in a future article.

We have the growing list of Irish players in AFL, there will be 14 players in 2019 with various Australian Rules clubs. 

We have decided to look at the current inter-county players who are currently plying their trade in Australia.

 1. Darragh Joyce (St Kilda) – Joyce, brother of former Kilkenny hurler Kieran is playing with St Kilda. He made his debut against North Melbourne at the MCG in Round 15 in 2018.

 

2. Pearce Hanley (Gold Coast Suns) – Hanley had been in Australia since 2008 when he joined the Brisbane Lions. He has since joined the Gold Coast Suns. He has played 140 games scoring 59 goals and is one the teams vice captains this year. He is a real star player and role model to any young player going to AFL.

 

3. Zach Tuohy (Geelong) – The Laois native has been in Australia since 2010 . He first joined Carlton in 2010, making 120 appearances scoring 40 goals. He has now moved to the Geelong club and has been there since 2017.

 

4.  James Madden ( Brisbane Lions) – The Dublin man joined the Lions in 2018. He has signed a two year deal at the club. He is a superb talent and a superb addition to their squad.

 

5. Anton Tohill (Collingwood) – He is the son of former Derry star Anthony Tohill who managed Ireland international rules side and played for Derry winning an All-Ireland in 1993 alongside Joe Brolly. He is under the category b rookie selection.

 

6. Mark Keane (Collingwood) – Another player that joins the side nicknamed the Magpies. The Cork man just like Anton Tohill joins the side in the category b rookie selection.

 

7. Colin O’Riordan (Sydney Swans) – The Tipperary man made his debut for the Swans (team which Kerry legend Tadgh Kennelly played) in Round 17 in 2018. He signed a rookie contract in 2015. The 24-year-old has a big future in Australia by the looks of it

 

8. Conor McKenna (Essendon) – The 22-year-old Tyrone man was on the rookie draft in 2014. He was signed by Essendon. He made his full debut in 2015 against Richmond and has played over 50 games for the club since.

 

9. Red Og Murphy (North Melbourne) – The Sligo teenager signed for North Melbourne in October of 2018. He is sure to feature in the upcoming season. Sligo’s loss is North Melbourne’s win.

 

10. Stefan Okunbor (Geelong) – The young Kerry man joined in October 2018. He was voted Munster U20 player of the year. He has signed a two year rookie contract the club.

 

11. Mark O’Connor (Geelong) – The Dingle and Kerry made his debut in 2017 for the Geelong Cats against Essendon at the MCG. He had five trial at various AFL clubs before the offer from Geelong was accepted.

 

12. Conor Glass (Hawthorn) – The Derry man is plying his trade with the Hawks. He made his debut in 2017 against Fremantle. He signed a two year rookie/ player contract extension to stay on Hawthorn’s rookie list till the end of 2018, he has since been elevated to the senior list.

 

13. Conor Nash (Hawthorn) – The Meath man joined Hawthorn in late 2016 as category b rookie. He made his debut in round 21  against Geelong in 2018.

 

14. Callum Brown (GWS Giants) – The young Derry man also joined in October 2018. He signed a category B rookie contract and will be looking to make his debut in the coming months.