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31st October 2024
11:27am GMT
Kerry's Cillian Burke has agreed a deal with AFL side Geelong Cats to join the club on a 'Category B Rookie' contract.
The 21-year-old has made quite an impact under Jack O’Connor this year, coming off the bench to good effect in the senior championship clashes with Derry and Armagh in the summer and scoring a point in the semi-final defeat to the latter.
Those in the Kingdom will have been hoping that the youngster might remain for another crack at Sam Maguire in 2025.
Burke will see a familiar face when he arrives in southern Australia, as Dingle’s Mark O’Connor has spent eight years within the Cats’ roster.
The Milltown man is quite the coup for the Aussie Rules side. He's a two-time Munster U20 winner who can play anywhere from wing-back to half-forward.
"Cillian is a very athletic and a talented prospect. We are thrilled he has decided to join Geelong and can't wait to welcome him to Australia next month," Geelong general manager of football Andrew Mackie said.
"A very established GGA (sic) player, we understand Cillian has made a big life decision to move to Australia.
"We will support him and have a plan in place to make a smooth transition to the Cats and our football program."
Geelong finished third in the regular Aussie Rules season this year and were narrowly beaten by eventual champions Brisbane in the preliminary (semi) final.
Burke's move sees him replace the outgoing Laois star Zach Tuohy, who announced his retirement from AFL after 15 years down under.
Tuohy initially played for Carlton for four seasons before signing for Geelong in 2016.
The 34-year-old became the most-capped Irish player in AFL history last year when he surpassed Jim Stynes record of 264 appearances.
Tuohy is one of just four Irish players to win an AFL premiership, along with teammate Mark O’Connor, Tadhg Kennelly and Conor McKenna who won this year's title with Brisbane Lions.
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