Sports Digest: GAA star Ciaran Kilkenny cuts short his Aussie Rules career to play for Dublin

Kilkenny’s No to Oz, Yes to Dubs

“He has what it takes to operate at the highest level. He’s a great individual and keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground.”

Farrell also believes Kilkenny’s decision will help stop the flood of players moving to Aussie Rules from the GAA.

He continued, “Obviously there was also a huge debate about the International Rules Series, that it was putting a lot of our better young players on show and in the shop window for Australian clubs.

“The fact that clubs were running camps and scouting our players hasn’t sat well with the more traditional members of the organization.

“But this shows that one of our best young players had an opportunity presented to him, he had a look at it and realized it wasn’t for him.

“That’s hugely encouraging for the GAA as a whole and we shouldn’t have any fears about our games being on show and competing with the best professional games in the world.”

Officials at the Hawthorn club have accepted Kilkenny’s decision.

Hawthorn’s List Manager Graham Wright said, “We’re disappointed but we’re leaving the door open, there’s no reason to close it if he was to change his mind in a couple of months, or six months or a year.

“He had been doing really well and it had been a great five or six weeks. He had trained well and had impressed everyone with his running ability and commitment.

“He was the type of lad you’d have to watch for fear of over-training.”

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Nster.com