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Can somone please read this article from afl.com.au, and tell me why the hell this kid is not on the Swans rookie list ? or at least is not about to be ???
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Irish rookie excited by challenge
12:34:58 PM Wed 3 December, 2003
Matt Burgan
afl.com.au
Carlton is set to name Irishman Setanta O hAilpin on its rookie list for the 2004 season.
The 20-year-old has already started training with the Blues and will officially be named as a rookie list player by Friday?s 2pm deadline for international rookies. The AFL Rookie Draft will be held on Tuesday, 16 December.
?It?s been arranged now,? the likeable O hAilpin said excitedly at Optus Oval on Wednesday.
O hAilpin, who came under notice of several recruiting managers at a trials session in Ireland a ?few years ago?, is rapt to be gaining an opportunity with Carlton.
?They approached me six or seven weeks ago. I got onto (Carlton recruiting manager) Shane (O?Sullivan) and he told me to come out and see if I like it and see if they like me as a footballer,? O hAilpin said.
O hAilpin, who has also played Gaelic football, soon became an elite young gun for Cork in hurling, which was particularly evident in 2003 when he was awarded the Young Hurler of the Year and was also named in the All Star team.
?I had a good season and (I) picked up two awards, which I was honoured to get. It?s great for myself and for my family and the opportunity I have now is even bigger,? O hAilpin said.
His older brother Sean Og, who also plays for Cork, is a stand out player in hurling, having played for eight seasons, while he too was named in the 2003 All Star team.
O hAilpin said the likes of Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly were ?a big inspiration? while he said Kennelly has already phoned him to wish him all the best.
?As Irish people do, they look out for each other and I?d like to thank him for the phone call and hopefully we?ll meet up one time,? O hAilpin said.
?He?s one of my main admirations in footy and Jim Stynes as well, but now that Tadhg Kennelly is playing, I look to him as an Irish fella and as a countryman.?
He said ?it was and it wasn?t? a big decision for him to have a crack at playing Australian football at the highest level.
?The biggest thing that drove me here is the way that AFL is professional and I?d like to see myself as a professional player in the years to come,? O hAilpin said.
?They train hard, but at the end of the day, you?ve got to earn your crust of bread and people have got to work.?
Although he said ?getting used to the oval ball? and ?working on my skills and fitness? will be the major keys to forging an AFL career, he added that on average he was ?hoping to hit five out of five targets by the end of next year?. Already he averages three out of five.
O hAilpin has a fascinating background. Born in Sydney in 1983, he moved to Ireland when he was five years old. His father was born in Ireland and his mother was born in Fiji, yet his parents met in Fiji, before they settled in Sydney, where they lived for 20 years.
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Irish rookie excited by challenge
12:34:58 PM Wed 3 December, 2003
Matt Burgan
afl.com.au
Carlton is set to name Irishman Setanta O hAilpin on its rookie list for the 2004 season.
The 20-year-old has already started training with the Blues and will officially be named as a rookie list player by Friday?s 2pm deadline for international rookies. The AFL Rookie Draft will be held on Tuesday, 16 December.
?It?s been arranged now,? the likeable O hAilpin said excitedly at Optus Oval on Wednesday.
O hAilpin, who came under notice of several recruiting managers at a trials session in Ireland a ?few years ago?, is rapt to be gaining an opportunity with Carlton.
?They approached me six or seven weeks ago. I got onto (Carlton recruiting manager) Shane (O?Sullivan) and he told me to come out and see if I like it and see if they like me as a footballer,? O hAilpin said.
O hAilpin, who has also played Gaelic football, soon became an elite young gun for Cork in hurling, which was particularly evident in 2003 when he was awarded the Young Hurler of the Year and was also named in the All Star team.
?I had a good season and (I) picked up two awards, which I was honoured to get. It?s great for myself and for my family and the opportunity I have now is even bigger,? O hAilpin said.
His older brother Sean Og, who also plays for Cork, is a stand out player in hurling, having played for eight seasons, while he too was named in the 2003 All Star team.
O hAilpin said the likes of Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly were ?a big inspiration? while he said Kennelly has already phoned him to wish him all the best.
?As Irish people do, they look out for each other and I?d like to thank him for the phone call and hopefully we?ll meet up one time,? O hAilpin said.
?He?s one of my main admirations in footy and Jim Stynes as well, but now that Tadhg Kennelly is playing, I look to him as an Irish fella and as a countryman.?
He said ?it was and it wasn?t? a big decision for him to have a crack at playing Australian football at the highest level.
?The biggest thing that drove me here is the way that AFL is professional and I?d like to see myself as a professional player in the years to come,? O hAilpin said.
?They train hard, but at the end of the day, you?ve got to earn your crust of bread and people have got to work.?
Although he said ?getting used to the oval ball? and ?working on my skills and fitness? will be the major keys to forging an AFL career, he added that on average he was ?hoping to hit five out of five targets by the end of next year?. Already he averages three out of five.
O hAilpin has a fascinating background. Born in Sydney in 1983, he moved to Ireland when he was five years old. His father was born in Ireland and his mother was born in Fiji, yet his parents met in Fiji, before they settled in Sydney, where they lived for 20 years.
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