Tyrone starlet signs Swans deal / Coney staying in Ireland

[ugg]

As an international rookie does he count against the total list number? I'm sure the first doesn't, but wouldn't we have had 3 going into next year so do they start to count after X number(or is 3 the max? I'm sure Carlton had 3 at one stage, or did they move Setanta onto the main list before his brother came over?)?

Just curious if this impacts on the number of NSW kids (for example) we could have rookied, if it doesn't really matter (short of impacting our commitment to some other international rookie) then I'm not overly concerned and best of luck for the kid in the future; better to find out now than to invest a couple of years in him, have him ready to go then have him say "actually, I'm going home".

He could have counted outside the rookie list but I believe we chose to count him inside the rookie list. I understand his decision, especially at such a young age, but I wish he had come to this conclusion before the rookie draft.

[stellation]

Ahh, okay- I thought I recalled something around us using a regular (well, regular rookie) space for an international rookie. Rubbish timing then, and I have to admit I am a tad peeved about it as it does impact on the ability to throw a lifeline to some other young aspirant. Is there any point in moving one of the other international rookies to a regular rookie spot?

Still, I understand his decision and don't think it entirely makes him a mummy's boy (the guy is pretty young!)- I'd rather we found out now rather than later, obviously finding out before the rookie draft would also have been good, but I guess we need to keep in mind that if this is the first opportunity he's had to spend time around an AFL club at length then it's not entirely his fault that he's in a situation where he gets the information to make this sort of decision after the most convenient time for us.

[ugg]

Actually I just realised I'm talking through my behind, Irish players do not count as international rookies, I was thinking of the Pykester.

[BSA5]

Mother@@@@ER!

[laughingnome]

I think that's just the way the dice rolls sometimes. It underscores the inherrent risk in recruiting the best young talent from the GAA.

It's strange how the AFL clubs decided Ireland was a good resource to tap into after Kennelly and Stynes successfully made the transition between codes given that Kennelly has always maintained that he wants to go home. Don't get me wrong, Kennelly has been great and it's been a massive win for the Swans, but I'm not sure how well it works en masse. These men all want to win an All-Ireland Final, and while the AFL is nice, I'm not sure all of the young Irish lads prefer it.

I do think that if I grew up in Ireland my heros would be more Cavanagh then Kirk. It's only natural.

[liz]

He went from the elation of being a superstar in the All-Ireland minors final to 5 and a bit weeks of what was probably the hardest physical training he's been subjected to, in heat/sun (at least sporadically) much fiercer than he's used to, and probably quickly realised that - at the moment - he ranks 46th on a roster of 46 in terms of how close he is to playing senior footy.

So then he gets on a plane, goes back home to friends and family, and is suddenly back at the top of the tree with his local club. Not surprising that staying in Ireland seems an attractive option, especially if he wasn't 100% sold on coming over in the first place.

I suspect getting these players past that first break back in Ireland is the hardest part. If they get back on a plane that first time, the chances are they really do want to give AFL a serious shot. The trick is working out ahead of time which are the ones who are going to get back on that plane.

[BSA5]

He went from the elation of being a superstar in the All-Ireland minors final to 5 and a bit weeks of what was probably the hardest physical training he's been subjected to, in heat/sun (at least sporadically) much fiercer than he's used to, and probably quickly realised that - at the moment - he ranks 46th on a roster of 46 in terms of how close he is to playing senior footy.

So then he gets on a plane, goes back home to friends and family, and is suddenly back at the top of the tree with his local club. Not surprising that staying in Ireland seems an attractive option, especially if he wasn't 100% sold on coming over in the first place.

I suspect getting these players past that first break back in Ireland is the hardest part. If they get back on a plane that first time, the chances are they really do want to give AFL a serious shot. The trick is working out ahead of time which are the ones who are going to get back on that plane.

That's all well and good, but the guy made a commitment. If he wasn't certain he wanted to stay, he should never have signed on in the first place. If you make a commitment, and then change your mind, then that's too bad. Obviously there'd be no point keeping him here against his will, and I doubt we could even if we tried, but it's still a dog act.

[ugg]

That's all well and good, but the guy made a commitment. If he wasn't certain he wanted to stay, he should never have signed on in the first place. If you make a commitment, and then change your mind, then that's too bad. Obviously there'd be no point keeping him here against his will, and I doubt we could even if we tried, but it's still a dog act.

That's very harsh - we could similarly blame the club saying if Coney had shown signs of having second thoughts (which he had according to Irish reports late last year), then we shouldn't have signed him and instead plumped for a local rookie. But the club must have seen something in Coney to suggest it was worth the risk. Unfortunately, the risk has not paid off in this case.

A dog act would be jumping to another sport for more money, (a la Sonny Bill Williams), which is certainly not the case here.

[Cardinal]

At least our apparent gamble on him wasn't at the expense of Cousins

[Robbo]

So are we letting him walk out on his contract because he is homesick?

If we aren't allowed to add a replacement rookie then this sucks ass.

[reigning premier]

Pathetic.

Who's starting a poll on Irishmen being soft mummies boys?

[BSA5]

That's very harsh - we could similarly blame the club saying if Coney had shown signs of having second thoughts (which he had according to Irish reports late last year), then we shouldn't have signed him and instead plumped for a local rookie. But the club must have seen something in Coney to suggest it was worth the risk. Unfortunately, the risk has not paid off in this case.

A dog act would be jumping to another sport for more money, (a la Sonny Bill Williams), which is certainly not the case here.

No. If he'd gone to another sport chasing money, but not breached his contract, that would be fine. I'd be upset, but he and any other player have a right to make that decision. The reason it is a dog act is that he led the Swans on. He let them sign him. He should bloody suck it up, spend the year in Australia, learn the game, work on his fitness, form a close circle of friends, and if he still doesn't like it, then the Swans can terminate his contract at the end of the year and he can go back to Ireland. It wouldn't be exactly what he wants, but that's the risk you take when you sign a bloody contract.

[Cheer Squad mbr]

Talk about counting your chickens before they hatch. Ah well, you win some and you lose some I suppose.

[Cant turn right]

Makes you think what's the point of having a contract.

[T-bag]

I can understand the desire to go home, but fair dinkum, what a loser.

He didn't even give it a go. Best of luck to the silly bastard though.

Age is the factor here I think - he was just too young.


For the Swans to place an international player on the Rookie list like this was just really really really really dumb. Can't emphasise how dumb it was. Should have given a local kid a go who had the desire to play AFL in the first place. Oh so DUMB!