Delisted #41: Michael Quinn

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Re: Michael Quinn

Essendon signs first international recruit

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Sunday, 16 November 2008
Craig Rowston for essendonfc.com.au
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Essendon history has been created with the club officially announcing today it has signed Irish teenager, Michael Quinn, as an international rookie. The 18-year-old (who turns 19 on Australia Day) will be one of six rookie listed Bomber players in 2009.
He is from, and played for Killoe in Longford and is the first international player signed by the club after impressing list manager, Adrian Dodoro, during a trial in September.
“He is very athletic and we were impressed with his physical ability and good attitude,” Dodoro said.
“Michael is very keen to learn and hungry to succeed so we think that gives him a good chance to play AFL football for Essendon.
“The big issue for him and all Irish recruits is his skill level, particularly his kicking, so we will need to put plenty of work into that area.
“Also, Gaelic football doesn’t require the tackling skills that are so important in AFL so he will have to learn to lay a strong tackle and break tackles from opponents.”

To buy a 2009 ‘My Club’ membership click here

Dodoro said that over the next few months Quinn will spend plenty of time with Essendon’s coaches, including Alan Richardson who had good success with Irishman Marty Clarke at Collingwood.

“We expect he will join in full training sessions in January and he will be worked hard so we can fast track his development,” Dodoro said.

Quinn says his strengths in Gaelic Football were his speed, ball carrying and ability to read the play but he knows he has plenty to learn to become an AFL player.

“Probably ball skills is the main thing to work on but when you work on that you can’t forget your fitness and you can’t forget that you have to bulk up a bit so you have to keep all three going at the same time to progress,” he said.

“It was a big decision to move but something I always wanted to do was play professional football so I jumped at the chance.

“I heard that Essendon was a big club, one of the top premierships clubs, and I had heard of Collingwood with Marty Clarke and Carlton and Sydney with their Irish fellas. It’s (AFL) pretty big back home.”

Standing around 185cm, Quinn will start his playing career on a half-back flank playing for Bendigo to help him better learn the game.

He says it’s hard to know exactly what his 2009 goals should be.

“Maybe in another month or so I will have a better idea where I am at – I am starting at the beginning so it’s difficult to tell,” he said.

“I need to work up through the steps. First is work on ball use, skills and bulking up and then get into some good training sessions and practice matches. Then I can get into playing for the Bendigo Bombers and try and play consistently for them and work my way up.

“They (AFL players) are a lot bigger and in better shape than the Irish fellas because it is a professional organisation. It’s very different to back home.”

Quinn is living near the club with an Irish family who support the Bombers which is expected to help with his adjustment to life in Melbourne.

He says the heat and being away from his parents, older sister and younger brother have been the hardest part of the move but the efforts of his team-mates – particularly the young players like David Myers and Tayte Pears - have made him feel at home.



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http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6171
 

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Re: Michael Quinn

Merv said:
He says the heat and being away from his parents, older sister and younger brother have been the hardest part of the move but the efforts of his team-mates – particularly the young players like David Myers and Tayte Pears - have made him feel at home./quote]

Its all happening at Windy Hill Swervyn. If he gets thirsty, there's always O'Sullivans just down the road to quench his Irish thirst.
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Re: Michael Quinn

Ben the Gooner said:
As far as I'm concerned, anything he does is simply a bonus. I'm not expecting anything, but I'm glad Essendon is investing in both this and the NSW scholarship.
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I agree. It's nice to have a player who you have no expectation of. If he doesn't turn out, no harm done, if he does, then it's a nice surprise.
 
Re: Michael Quinn

he is in for shock once summer hits if the heat is already getting to him
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

i've only seen him against the bulldogs and he didn't do much (i liked his enthusiasm though) but if he can get chosen by round 2 in the first year that he's ever played the sport he must be good and is sure to improve. i can't wait to see him on sunday.
 

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Re: 41. Michael Quinn

I really don't want to be harsh on a guy that was just having a go so I won't.

I have no idea how he got a game obviously won't be playing next week.

Let's see him get some feel for the game at Bendigo before throwing him into the bigtime.

I guess you could also say it was a good move to play him against a s**t side and whatever he did, it didn't matter.
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

;) Clearly a crowd fav and it was great the way we all wanted him to do well. Obviusly he is just learning his craft but I wish him all the best. :)
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

warney7 said:
I really don't want to be harsh on a guy that was just having a go so I won't.

I have no idea how he got a game obviously won't be playing next week.

Let's see him get some feel for the game at Bendigo before throwing him into the bigtime.

I guess you could also say it was a good move to play him against a s**t side and whatever he did, it didn't matter.
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I was quite impressed by his game actually. Vey composed in pressure situations, as there were a few times where he could have been excused for just throwing it on the boot, but he would put in a nice handball, or baulk around a player and take the game on. I was nervous whenever he had to kick, but his team-mates didn't seem too concerned, as there was never an obvious instruction to run around him for the handball.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if he held his spot for next week.
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

Maybe I need to watch the game again.

From where I was sitting all I noticed was mistakes...and a handpass to Slattery which led to a goal.

But watching on tv can sometimes give you a better idea of what happens in a game when you see everything up close.
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

warney7 said:
Maybe I need to watch the game again.

From where I was sitting all I noticed was mistakes...and a handpass to Slattery which led to a goal.

But watching on tv can sometimes give you a better idea of what happens in a game when you see everything up close.
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I was at the game so can't comment on the tv aspect.
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

Was pleasantly surprised by how many times number 41 looked composed under pressure. A couple of errors, but for a guy in the game for 4 months, was playing much better than others who have been in 4 years. Early signs are good.
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

Just four months after taking up the sport, Michael Quinn is making major strides in Australian Rules football, the most significant of which came last weekend with his AFL debut.
The Essendon Bombers player, who once strode playing fields in the colours of Killoe Emmet Óg and Longford, was picked to start last Sunday's second round tie against Freemantle. He repaid his coach's faith with the kind of performance that stole sporting headlines.

It has been a meteoric rise for the talented footballer, who just four months ago bid farewell to his native county to take up the new code. In that short space of time, Quinn has adapted quicker than any other Irish player to make the same move.

It took just over a season for Kerry's Tadhg Kennelly to make his AFL debut, while Down's Marty Clarke took the better part of a season. However, after just a handful of games, Quinn impressed coaches so much that he was handed his AFL debut last Sunday.

His coach, Matthew Knights, hailed the Longford man's performance as "superb".

While showing clear elements of rawness at times, he collected 20 disposals as a running defender and gave off a handball to set up a goal for his team-mate Henry Slattery in the third term.

Knights admitted that they could no longer ignore Quinn's undoubted potential.

"We sat down at match committee and we said 'If Michael wasn't from Ireland would we pick him?' We had to stop using that as an out not to pick him. He was the next one in line to come in due to his form in the VFL (reserve league), so we picked him," said Knights.

While he admitted there were some hair-raising moments during the game, the coach said Quinn impressed.

"It was put the seatbelt on and look away, but I enjoyed his enthusiasm and he certainly brought the crowd to life at times," he said.

Speaking to reporters after the match on Sunday, Michael admitted that his hard work has paid off.

"After Christmas it kind of got down to the serious part. I've worked hard since I came over and they kind of realised I was here to stay.

"He (Knights] just said to take things as they came, just work from week to week and keep improving. That's what I've done … it paid off. 'Work hard enough, you get the chance' - that's what he said.

"I'm reading the game a lot better, it's just game time that I need really. It was only my fifth or sixth game yesterday, so if you keep playing games you keep learning all the time."

Having been told on Thursday that he was starting, Quinn consulted with Collingwood's rising Irish star, Marty Clarke, who similarly stole headlines with his performances last year. "I was talking to him before the game so that was good. I had a few words and he gave me a few tips … he's been pretty good about it."

The Bombers this week face Carlton, and Quinn said he had been informed of the clubs' rivalry.

"I kind of have a fair idea how big a game that is," he remarked.
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http://www.longfordleader.ie/news/Quinn-pr...be-a.5150718.jp
 
Re: 41. Michael Quinn

Geez the footy world is being tough on him. He's already done a lot more than most of the Irish experiments that haven't really been reported on. He looked out of his depth in the final, but that's to be expected isn't it? I still think he's shown enough signs in a short space of time to suggest he's got it. It's not his fault he's been rushed into the team ahead of time.
 
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