The 2024 AFL season kicks off on Thursday morning with Irish players at the front and centre of the action.
Leading the way is Portlaoise man Zach Tuohy. The Geelong star, 34, broke the late Jimmy Stynes’s 264-game record for the highest number of appearances by an Irish player last year, and now into what is expected to be his final year before hanging up his boots, the former Carlton player will bow out as one of only three Irish players to win an AFL premiership.
Kerry defender Mark O’Connor joined Tuohy in becoming a premiership player when Geelong defeated Sydney to win the 2022 Grand Final. Retired Sydney Swans defender Tadhg Kennelly was the first Irish player to win an AFL Premiership in 2005 and to this day the Listowel man remains the only Irishman to win both an AFL Premiership and an All-Ireland title.
Mayo forward Oisin Mullin is the third Irish player on Geelong’s books. Mullin, 24, played six senior matches for the Cats last year and has a bright future ahead.
In contrast to AFLW, which boasts well in excess of 30 Irish women, the numbers of Irish males on the books of AFL clubs is around two-thirds fewer.
Tyrone native Conor McKenna, 27, endured the agony of Grand Final defeat in his first appearance in a season decider last year when Brisbane lost 90-86 to Collingwood in one of the greatest Grand finals in history.
The Eglish player, who penned a two-year contract extension for the Lions in 2023, will miss the opening round of the new season after breaking down with a hamstring injury last month. The Lions are almost unbeatable at home having won 42 out of their past 47 games at the Gabba, but they have lost their past 14 consecutive matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Brisbane last tasted premiership success two decades ago in 2004 and they will have to defy history to go one better than last year, given that in the past ten years no AFL team has reached a Grand Final after losing one the previous year.
Greater Western Sydney speedster Callum Brown narrowly missed out on an epic cross-Sperrins showdown with McKenna in last year’s Grand Final when GWS lost their preliminary final to Collingwood by a solitary point at the MCG.
Brown, who also penned a two-year contract extension last season, is now one of the first names on the GWS team sheet. After being switched from defence to attack, the man nicknamed ‘Downtown Brown’ has become an integral part of the GWS forward line where he has kicked a number of trademark long range goals.
GWS were outclassed by Richmond in their only previous Grand Final appearance in 2019 but under second-year coach Adam Kingsley they proved their critics wrong after struggling to adapt to their new game plan in the first half of the season. Brown believes they could go through the entire season undefeated this time around.
Wexford’s Barry O’Connor signed a one-year deal to play for the GWS reserve team in 2023 after moving from the Sydney Swans but he never made a senior AFL appearance. His availability for this year is so far unconfirmed.
Tyrone’s Aidan Corr, 29, is another northerner in the AFL. The former GWS defender is now a linchpin of North Melbourne’s backline. The Kangaroos finished second-bottom last year after only three wins all season and are unlikely to play finals this year around.
Meath’s Conor Nash, 25, is on the road to becoming an AFL superstar. Nash was signed by Hawthorn as a Category B rookie in 2016 and since halfway through the 2022 season has developed into an elite midfielder.
Nash is expected to remain at Hawthorn for the foreseeable future, but should he ever leave his value will rise astronomically. As a midfield tackling machine, Nash could earn up to 520,000 Pounds ($AUD1,000,000) a season from a growing list of suitors.
Hawthorn have been the most successful AFL side of the modern era, but they finished third-bottom last year and have not played finals since 2018.
Cork’s Mark Keane, 23, joined the Adelaide Crows after two seasons at Collingwood from 2019-21. Following two years back in the GAA, Keane moved to South Australia and struggled to break into the Crows starting eighteen before a defensive injury crisis opened the door for his resurgence towards the end of last season.
Keane excelled in the final five matches of 2023 and is now established as a key defender. The Crows controversially missed out on finals football last year when they were beaten by a last-minute winner at home to Sydney despite replays proving the goal should have been disallowed.
Monaghan’s Karl Gallagher was added to the Crows rookie list in the off-season and is hoping to make his senior debut this year.
Former Kilkenny minor All-Ireland winning captain Darragh Joyce spent six seasons with St Kilda making 13 AFL appearances before he was delisted. Joyce moved to Brisbane last year but has so far not made a senior AFL appearance for the Lions.
Dublin’s James Madden, 24, has only played 11 senior matches for Brisbane since moving to Queensland in 2021. Madden is another who is seeking to establish himself this year.
Kerry’s teenage prodigy Robert Monahan signed for Carlton in August, as an international rookie. Longford’s Mark Duffy also signed for Carlton but is not on the Navy Blues list this year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament whilst playing for his club side Dromard in October. Carlton remains committed to signing him next year instead.
A full list of the 12 Irish players in the AFL for season 2024 is as follows:
Adelaide Crows
Mark Keane (5 games for Collingwood & 5 games for Adelaide)
Karl Gallagher
Brisbane Lions
Conor McKenna (79 games for Essendon & 26 games for Brisbane)
James Madden (11 games)
Darragh Joyce (13 games for Saint Kilda)
Carlton
Robert Monahan
Geelong
Zach Tuohy (120 games for Carlton & 150 games for Geelong)
Mark O’Connor (109 games)
Oisin Mullin (6 games)
Greater Western Sydney Giants
Callum Brown (29 games)
Hawthorn
Conor Nash (73 games)
North Melbourne
Aidan Corr (98 games for GWS & 41 games for North Melbourne)