Mayo needs to stop losing ‘generational’ talents to Australia – Dillon
Former Mayo footballer and current TD Alan Dillon believes county board need to persuade talents like Kobe McDonald from leaving to play Aussie Rules
A former Mayo GAA captain believes the Mayo County Board need to look at ways at persuading ‘generational’ talents like Kobe McDonald from leaving GAA to play Aussie Rules.
Former Mayo footballer and current TD and Minister of State, Alan Dillon has called for more to be done to persuade talented Gaelic footballers to stay playing inter-county football instead of joining professional AFL teams in Australia.
Teenage sensation Kobe McDonald is set to join AFL side St Kilda after Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Kerry and follow in the footsteps of former Mayo footballers Oisin Mullin and Pierce Hanley in playing Aussie Rules.
Speaking in Westport on Monday, Minister Dillon accepted that the ‘lure of Australia and the professional game’ can be tempting for a lot of players but still believes more can be done to persuade players to stay playing Gaelic football.
“It is an issue. Kobe has been a revelation since he stepped into the senior set-up but these decisions are based on individual preferences. As a wider issue it has been talked about previously in Kerry and other counties that we are losing our top talents to other international games.
“The GAA can look to see what additional support they can give players. I am not saying pay for play but what I am saying is ensuring there are better enticements for a lot of these players to try to keep them home based.
Temptation
“I suppose the lure of Australia and the professional game always seem to tempt them to experience it for a few years. You often see many players who come back and feel it is not for them. The experiences from the likes of [former Mayo and Ballaghaderreen footballer] Cian Hanley is something Kobe might be mindful of but we have also seen the success around the likes of Pierce Hanley and Oisin Mullin. Whatever Kobe decides we wish him all the best.
“I am sure this conversation will continue again into the future but unfortunately Mayo seem to lose these top talented players who are once in a generation. The county board in Mayo probably needs to reflect on that and see how they can curb or combat the loss of these generational players,” he said.
Dillon played in six All-Ireland finals including two defeats to Kerry in 2004 and 2006 and while accepting that Kerry ’ have all the aces in their pack’, he believes that if Mayo can ‘start at a fanatic pace’ it can knock the Kingdom off their stride.
'Tight affair’
“It will be a very tight affair. Mayo have been on the upward curve not withstanding that Kerry have all the aces in their pack. I think Andy will lean on past experiences. He has a very experienced management team with the likes of Colm Boyle and Keith Higgins and there are a lot of experienced characters within the Mayo dressing room.
“They are going to have to start at a frantic pace and not allow Kerry to become comfortable playing at their own pace. We saw in the semi-final against Dublin that Kerry can play slow and fast and again tactically Mayo will have to be very clever within their own kick-outs and restarts.
“I would certainly feel if they are in it with 15 minutes to go and they are within touching distance and the game gets stretched that will be to Mayo’s benefit.
“There is a huge prize on offer and if you see the excitement right across the county last week and coming into this week there is a great belief that this team can go one step further and give everyone a huge lift,” he said.