Two Kildare players linked with AFL trials this weekend

I see that two Kildare players are participating in AFL trials at the weekend. They're not named but it wouldn't take a whole lot to guess who they might be. That's of course if they do decide to go ahead.

http://www.daraghoconchuir.ie/blog.php?id=1442

There will be much giving out again about this and it's pure hypocritical. If Kildare loses someone to Aussie Rules, it's no different to losing Pierre Ennis to soccer (he came back but the time out and injuries dulled him), or losing Fionn Carr or Geordan Murphy to rugby, or the very real possibility of losing Kevin Feely to soccer.

Hope it doesn't happen mind you, but I would definitely accept an opportunity to have two years in Oz if nothing else.

Hurley and Fionn Dowling are the names I've heard mentioned.

Key difference though in that Carr and Murphy were hardly established as definite potential county seniors. Remember Carr being taken off in championship when he was a Kildare minor. Plus Pierre Ennis never made it with Kildare GAA either, though you could argue that that might have been different if he'd never gone cross-Channel. Feely would be a massive loss though, if he does choose soccer.
The way I see it with Aussie Rules, there's a massive chance if a lad goes that he'll come back two years later as a better-rounded athlete.

Dont see how Feeley would be this massive loss?!
Yes he has potential, but thats a word that Geezer dosent hang on. He's not established in the Kildare county GAA setup either, so it won;t make him any greater a loss than Carr or Murphy.

True FuturesWhite, but even from the point of view of underage teams - I'd imagine he might be on the U21 panel next year? Plus, while there's no guarantee a good minor will develop into a good senior, the more good young players you have, the more chance of getting a few very good seniors out of it. I mean, if he goes to soccer, and the rumours are true about Dowling and Hurley, that's four very promising young players (including Paul Cribbin) off the same minor team not available to us. You'd have to think at least one or two of them would have ended up as regular seniors in the future.
The difference with Carr and Murphy is that neither of them were 'superstars' at Kildare minor level, while all four of the above players were impressive a couple of years ago when we beat Dublin.

In my opinion , Feely is going to be top class. The best midfield prospect in Kildare by a long way and the player who could replace the Sarsfields colossus in the future. I might be a little bias here but Daryel O'Brien from Carbury is definitely worth a Geexer look. He played county under 16 with a lot of the present Kildare panel and went on a soccer scholarship to America when he was 17. He has a lot going for him.

Yeah I guess ur right O2B. The years between minor football and senior are quite crucial to the development of a footballer. I have liked what Ive seen of some of these guys but experience prevents me from getting excited about any of them. Next year will be a big one for the likes of Fionn Dowling, Moolick and Fogarty. All 3 of them got a lot of plaudits for very little game time during the year.

I have a feeling Geezer could be ready to move a few of the senior panelists - who havent been performing in recent times. The likes of Smith should be feeling the pressure now. Kavanagh was very poor last year also.
With so much promise coming through the U/21's, and the fact that he is now officially a selector. We could see a changing of the guard with some of these lads....

As for Tom Cribben. The man is an established and recognised manager in his own right. He was never going to play second fiddle to anybody and rightly so. He would be somebody I would think should be considered whenever our existing management team moves on. Something I hope wont happen any time soon!

Serious kick in the bolix for jtb if Hurley gets signed up...

Are Hurley and Fionn Dowling the two? Or if not, who are they?

Heard a rumor about Dowling before alright, but of course there could be no truth behind it at all. Apparently he was asked by a club to go over earlier in the summer after he sat the Leaving Cert but a combination of being involved with the seniors and the offer of a GAA scholarship at college in September were meant to have swayed him to stay at the time. Didn't hear anything about Hurley but wouldn't be too surprised if he is one of the two involved either.

Like I said though, could be all rubbish.

Regarding Feely, as was mentioned on the county final thread, the Airtricity League might not seem like the most glamorous place to be for a lad who wants to play soccer at a high level, but he's very highly regarded at Boh's, and if we're still in existence come next season he's definitely going to be a regular starter (already scored a winner against Shamrock Rovers in the Leinster Cup earlier this season). And given the recent moves and success of Doyle, Coleman, Fahey and Ward amongst others then there's a big chance he could go on to bigger and better things if he so wants and the opportunity presents itself.

Again though as much as a loss that some players are / would be, I don't think many of us would turn down the chance of a two year contract in Oz. Best of luck to anybody who does go but hopefully we get to see them line out for us at some point in the future.

TommyKeegan wrote:

Are Hurley and Fionn Dowling the two? Or if not, who are they?

from what ive heard there the two...best of luck to them,great chance for them

Jimmy white wrote:

Serious kick in the bolix for jtb if Hurley gets signed up...

Spot on Jimmy.............for a county to lose two lads is unfortunate but for a small club to lose 2 players would be devastating in the short term. Any chance of finally winning the intermediate would be set back for another few years (not that we've been covering ourselves in our recent attempts to win it ) However, like everything else the show will / would go on and we some excellent youngsters at U14 and U16 level coming through who are gonna be stars please god

Tomcruise are you serious you have said about daryel o brien as a back before , so where do you want him played now as a forward because he played a couple of games for carbury there. he probably is there because they feel he is not good enough of a back. played underage kildare but has been average since. loads of other players way ahead of him!

patw14

Only mentioned Daryel O'Brien because make no mistake about it , Kildare need to find at least three new players to move forward in 2012. One other player that impressed me this year was the Larries full back.

We were simply not good enough in 2011 and if the Geeeer moves in with the same panel in 2012 , he is only fooling himself and the Kildare supporters. O'Brien and the Larries full back might be two options but there simply has to be others to make progress.

I made the point at the end of 2010 that we were not good enough ( and got sick listening to every excuse in the world )and got a bit of a ribbing on the forum but I was proven right.

2012 will be a defining year for this present Kildare team and management. They must win some silverware and I cannot see it with the 2011 panel intact.

tomcruise wrote:

patw14

Only mentioned Daryel O'Brien because make no mistake about it , Kildare need to find at least three new players to move forward in 2012. One other player that impressed me this year was the Larries full back.

We were simply not good enough in 2011 and if the Geeeer moves in with the same panel in 2012 , he is only fooling himself and the Kildare supporters. O'Brien and the Larries full back might be two options but there simply has to be others to make progress.

I made the point at the end of 2010 that we were not good enough ( and got sick listening to every excuse in the world )and got a bit of a ribbing on the forum but I was proven right.

2012 will be a defining year for this present Kildare team and management. They must win some silverware and I cannot see it with the 2011 panel intact.

Would agree with all of the above Tom. There was a time in Kildare and it was harder to get off the team than get on it. All changed now with Geezer. Expect to see some more experiments this league and some guys under serious pressure to retain their place.

Would also agree with the above. We made progress in 08, 09 and 10 but not this year. Next year is a critical year for us and we really need to bring in new players to keep momentum and competition strong. I thought our half back line was too porous this year and wonder if Flanagan and White are good enough at this level, they certainly have had plenty of chances. A couple of Larries defenders are worth considering as well as young Fogarty. Personally I would sacrifice promotiion to give young players plenty of game time. What do others think of that?

dont get me wrong i agree kildare need get rid of older players and lads that are not good enough and give new lads opportunity but daryel o brien is not one of them there are plenty ahead of him. where do you want to see him tried tomcruise as back or forward !

i hear there are lads being asked to go in and give it a go. i think geezer prob knows deep down about a few of the fringe guys on the panel that just dont cut it. they are there for the last 3 years now and some of them have seen no 1st team c/ship football. the only plus side is that their clubs will be delighted that they now might get the benifit from their best players. it needs to be freshened up and i think the powers that be know that.

patw14

I do not want to dwell on O'Brien but I see him as a ball carrying half forward who can score both goals and points. All I am saying is that he is worth a look. In fairness , there are not many starting places up for grabs in 2012 on the team The goalkeeper is a cert , at least five backs are certs , if Earley is back the midfield picks itself with JD going to the forwards and that makes at least 4 certs there. It will not be easy for anyone new to break into that team or panel.

I have to agree with tomcruise here we do need a few new faces on the panel. At the County final Daryl o Brien was one of the better Carbury players and I think he is worth a look also Dathi Cash he is only back from a serious injury but is a very good player. We have to bring new players in I still think there is a bit of dead wood on the panel and with the likes of O brien & Cash these lad deserve a chance with the way they played for there club this year.

steviegenius wrote:

I have to agree with tomcruise here we do need a few new faces on the panel. At the County final Daryl o Brien was one of the better Carbury players and I think he is worth a look also Dathi Cash he is only back from a serious injury but is a very good player. We have to bring new players in I still think there is a bit of dead wood on the panel and with the likes of O brien & Cash these lad deserve a chance with the way they played for there club this year.

To be fair, and I don't want to knock lads but these are the names being brought up, those lads aren't up to the standard of making the junior team never mind stepping onto the senior team.

Just off the top of my head, if you were looking for a ball carrying wing forward or big strong presence around midfield, I'd have Confey's Joe Keogh and Conor Feeney way ahead of O'Brien or Cash and that's without going into the many, many others ahead of them.

In the forwards, we need to be looking at fast, mobile young players capable of scoring. At the very least with the idea of bringing them in off the sideline if we were chasing the game. How effective could Darroch Mulhall been in extra time against the tired Donegal legs? Fogarty, Dowling and Eaton also deserve a shot during the O'Byrne Cup and league.

We need back up in midfield, Feeney definitely looks to be worth a shot. Options may be limited somewhat if we lose Hurley to aussie rules and feely to soccer but given that Peter Kelly is back and that Ollie Lyons and Ciaran Fitzpatrick are going to be serious options in the full back line, what about the possibility of seeing Hugh McGrillen in midfield? He has been an excellent corner back but he is such a good footballer that it almost seems a waste to have him there

It seems that Padraig Fogarty and Sean Hurley attended the trial last Saturday, while Fionn Dowling couldn't go because of an injury and a family bereavement (Suncroft's U21 game was off as a result of that too, or was it the rain?). A young lad from Louth has been offered a contract and Padraig Fogarty is quoted here as saying they were told that there'd be an eye kept on them. Interestingly, contact was first made last year. I heard that Hurley did really well. Anyway, if you want to know what Podge had to say about it...

http://www.daraghoconchuir.ie/blog.php?id=1458