GERARD O’KANE: The AFL conundrum

There has been a lot of debate recently about the status of the GAA when it comes to young players and their ‘poaching’ by AFL sides.

Depending on which side of the hammer you fall on, there is usually a fairly clear-cut opinion that ‘there is nothing the GAA can do’ or ‘the GAA should be putting an end to this practice’.

The truth is that there is a grey middle ground where nothing is as black and white as that. There is always talk of ‘what a loss to the county this is’, but I would fall more on the side of seeing it as a loss for the club.

Realistically, every county has a massive playing pool. While it might sound quite simplistic, with 42 clubs in Derry and an average squad size of 25, that’s more than 1,000 adult club senior footballers in the county. Obviously, not all of them are capable of playing county football, but when you are looking at one in 1,000 as opposed to one in 25 at a club, it definitely has a more pronounced effect on the club.

Over the years, there have been calls for redress schemes, such as compensation for the player’s club. If this was the case, I would argue for an 8020 split in favour of the club, at least. This sort of money is more valuable to a club, as a county can generate income from numerous outlets.

The most noise at the minute is coming from Kerry, who have a number of players plying their trade in Oz at the minute, and there are rumours of a further two or three being approached after recent trials. If it is the case that it is only one player from a particular county, such as Callum Brown for Derry, then, while not discounting the loss he is to Derry at the minute, we just have to suck that up.

But yes, I would be fairly annoyed, but not at the players, if three or four Derry lads were over in Australia to the detriment of the county team. The next question is: what can be done about it?

The GAA is very clear on its amateur status for players, so for the GAA to step in and, in some way, try to stem the tide of players going to Oz, surely they would have to go against that principle and put themselves on a slippery slope.

It looks like, in the short term, they are not willing to engage in the compromise rules series, but this is probably more of a window-dressing exercise. Really, any players who get picked up by the Oz system are identified far away from the eyes of the compromise rules. Open trials and watching copious amounts of GAA seem to be the way to go.

In truth, I don’t think there is a lot the GAA can do. Yes, it is frustrating for clubs and counties, but if a young lad is offered the chance of a professional lifestyle in a country with a nice climate, along with the opportunity to be rewarded semi-handsomely for it, then he would be mad not to at least give it a go.

You hear rumours of young lads being offered deals but choosing to stay at home, and no doubt there is some sort of incentive for them to stay, whether that be a secure job or a sponsorship deal of some sort. But these are few and far between. The financial muscle between the two systems is night and day.

It’s all well and good in hindsight and looking back, but if that had been the practice when I graduated out of minors in 2002 and I had been given the chance, I can’t say for sure, but I imagine it would have been hard to turn down.

There was a period when Derry threatened to be hit really hard by it. Chrissy McKaigue spent more than two years with Sydney Swans and came home, but not long after that, Conor Glass went and, maybe only for Covid, he might have stayed.

In between that, Emmett Bradley and Anton Tohill both had trials, with Anton spending two years there pre-Covid too. That’s four players from within a 10-mile radius who all had different opportunities but ultimately returned home.

Chrissy returned home and Sleacht Néill won their first county title in 10 years in 2014, then went four in a row, won three Ulsters and competed in two All-Ireland finals – and that’s not to mention his hurling exploits.

Conor returned home, Glen won their first-ever county title, went three in a row, won two Ulsters and one All-Ireland.

So you can see why I noted above that the club is arguably worse off when a player leaves. The direct correlation between the two lads returning and the upturn in their clubs’ fortunes is massive at that level. One player can make so much of a difference.

At county level, one player might not make that sort of difference, or, if a county is so reliant on one player alone, then that is an issue for them.

Players are going to be lost to the GAA for a variety of reasons, but until someone gives me a fairly sound argument for lads being held back, or for the GAA doing a deal with the AFL regarding players and compensation, I just don’t see what can be done about it.

I’m not saying all is rosy in the garden and that we should just forget about it, but sometimes we lose sight of the fact that it can be a great life experience for a young lad too. And who are we to judge anyone for that?