Retired #38 Colin O'Riordan - 2021 best clubman

[Kennedy Parker]

Colin O'Riordan

Player Profile
Irish Sydney Swans import Colin O’Riordan is determined to cement a position in the club’s evolving back six in 2020. The 2015 draftee broke through for his AFL debut in Round 17, 2018 and featured in 12 senior games in 2019. O’Riordan can shut down tall and small forwards and loves to run and carry.

Colin O'Riordan

38

Colin O'riordan

Age

28

Ht

186cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.7

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

6.3

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

190.1

3star

D

8.5

2star

K

4.0

1star

HB

4.5

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.5

2star

MG

98.5

2star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.2

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.4

4star

MG

267.8

5star

DOB: 12 October 1995
DEBUT: 2017
DRAFT: 2017
RECRUITED FROM: County Tipperary (Ireland)

Colin O'Riordan | AFL

Follow Colin O'Riordan's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

 

[Diehard_Swan]

6

 

[Superstar swan]

How come all irish blokes look irish?

 

[BruceFromBalnarring]

How come all irish blokes look irish?

There is nothing about this comment that could be classed as remotely funny and yet my keyboard is covered in coffee.

Thanks.

 

[Swansujelly]

Needs to hit the weet bix

 

[Lakeside Swan]

Nice footage of Colin here: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-10-31/morrish-medallist-clayton-oliver-adds-top10-twist.

Looks like they want to turn him into a running half back like Tadghkhgi

 

[J_Moore]

Do other people see this kid putting serious pressure on McVeigh for his spot in the side in rd1?

 

[Maddo11]

Do other people see this kid putting serious pressure on McVeigh for his spot in the side in rd1?

Maybe with a full pre season of pointing to space and yelling.

Seriously though; no.

 

[robbieando]

Do other people see this kid putting serious pressure on McVeigh for his spot in the side in rd1?

No. He has to make the senior list first before we can suggest that. Same goes with Newman

 

[Cadsky]

No. He has to make the senior list first before we can suggest that. Same goes with Newman

Agreed. I dont think either of them would be putting pressure on any of the senior players this year. That said i think Nick will be the first rookie elevated due to a lti and if colin has a great year in the ressies he may push for a spot on the primary list next year. however thats just speculative since noones ever seen him play a game of assie rules.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

I dont understand how does a player who has played zero AFL games has he even picked up a AFL football pressure players in the calibre such as McVeigh?

 

[J_Moore]

I dont understand how does a player who has played zero AFL games has he even picked up a AFL football pressure players in the calibre such as McVeigh?

Some of his GAA highlights were seriously impressive and I've felt for a long time that McVeigh is a little one-paced, which isn't good for modern footy.

 

[MarkP]

I dont understand how does a player who has played zero AFL games has he even picked up a AFL football pressure players in the calibre such as McVeigh?

They don't in reality.

Macca is in his footy prime for 2 more years and is a gun when it comes down to brass tacks.

Carried that calf late part of last year which didn't help but when it is all said and done 80% Macca was considered better than anything in the NEAFL and 80% Macca will be better than this kid for a long time yet.

 

[ScrewInStuds]

Some of his GAA highlights were seriously impressive and I've felt for a long time that McVeigh is a little one-paced, which isn't good for modern footy.

There's some truth to this, but IMO, when played at HB McV's ability to make space for himself in traffic and his ability to hit a target by foot compensates for any inability to break the lines with foot speed. There's not a person on earth who can run faster than a kicked ball.

I've got a good feeling about O'Riordan for some reason, but he will be doing very well to even debut next year.

 

[Tuco]

Not sure why we're looking for Colin to replace a player? I'm just keen to see him develop into a player like Tadhg who'll compliment our list I the coming years.

 

[J_Moore]

lol

 

[doona]

That said i think Nick will be the first rookie elevated due to a lti

We already have an LTI for next year, Johnson, so let the fighting for the spot begin!

 

[Superstar swan]

Dont want to sound harsh but i cannot get excited about irish imports. Yes guys have had success like kennelly, stynes, tuoehey and hanley, however every year there seems to be 2 or 3 gaelic superstars are signed to afl teams and very little if any ever have an impact.

Surely your a better chance of landing a player with a greater chance of forging an afl career in the rookie draft by taking someone who has played the game their whole life , rather teaching an international with no extraordinary skillset ( unless they are a 210 cm ex us basketball player who is a great athlete, a type that is hard to find in aus) to play the game from scratch

 

[ScrewInStuds]

Speaks well for a young fella, I like the cut of his jib

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2015-12-07/oriordan-feeling-at-home

 

[HighReeve]

Dont want to sound harsh but i cannot get excited about irish imports. Yes guys have had success like kennelly, stynes, tuoehey and hanley, however every year there seems to be 2 or 3 gaelic superstars are signed to afl teams and very little if any ever have an impact.

Surely your a better chance of landing a player with a greater chance of forging an afl career in the rookie draft by taking someone who has played the game their whole life , rather teaching an international with no extraordinary skillset ( unless they are a 210 cm ex us basketball player who is a great athlete, a type that is hard to find in aus) to play the game from scratch

Just last year Port signed an Irish guy who I don't think even made it through pre-season.

Definitely worth the risk tho. Consider that the wage of an international player is outside the cap unless they are elevated to the senior list, in which case they've probably made it.. And also the cat b rookie spots are extras regardless, whether they are international or other sports e.g Blicvas, Alex Keath the cricketer Adelaide have signed, we do have access to local players as cat b's but as seen this off-season we can accommodate both.

Room for improvement is the biggest reason we sign these guys tho. For sure there are guys available in the rookie draft that are more likely to reach AFL standard, but are more likely 'Good ordinary player' level than Dean Cox or Sandi.

 

[Footy311]

Irish article on Colin from this week.



Many aspects of his life have changed radically since signing a two-year rookie contract with the Sydney Swans three months ago but Colin O'Riordan's unbreakable mental strength is not one.


To up sticks and venture Down Under to play a foreign game is not for the faint-hearted; many try but few succeed. But the Tipperary youngster is giving it everything as he chases his professional "dream".

However, nothing could prepare him for the rigours of Aussie Rules pre-season. Having excelled in the blue and gold, he knows the commitment required to succeed at inter-county football but believes it pales in comparison to AFL.

"I've learned how professional 'professional' really is," O'Riordan says. "You think the GAA is professional, but when you come over here you realise it has a long way to go.

"You'd wake up crippled some mornings from pre-season here, you'd be aching and wonder how you're going to train that day. You'd question 'why am I here at all? How am I even going to get out of the bed?'

"You have to prepare yourself for the toughest physical test you're ever going to take in your life and that's the mindset you need. It's mind over matter really.

"You have to get over that mental block and earn your gravy with every single thing you do. You're trying to get noticed and everything you do must be done like a true professional."

Leaving a damp and dreary Ireland behind, the 20-year-old has found temperatures of 35° hard to cope with but he is gradually getting to grips with the humidity despite "feeling like collapsing at their first training".

The Australian "running game" places a greater emphasis on athleticism than Gaelic football while O'Riordan is quick to point out that his training schedule leaves little time to see Sydney's sights.

"People think you just come out here and bulk up but it couldn't be more the opposite. They want lean athletes who can run. It's not rugby, you're not tumbling into lads every two seconds, you're trying to avoid the hits," he says.

"Some people thought I was coming over here for a holiday and thought I'd be in looking at the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge every day of the week, but I haven't been into the city once.

"I've driven one road: the road to the club and then back home. All you do is train. You come home, you sleep, you eat, you train. It's a cliche but it's true and when you're not training, you're trying to recover."

After spending two months at the grindstone, the 2015 U-21 Player of the Year was delighted to return home to Killea, just outside Templemore, for Christmas and admitted he does miss some home comforts.

Family

"I couldn't imagine being away for Christmas," he says. "Family is everything to me and it's nice to get home to see the family and my girlfriend and just hang out with them. You're not going to see them for a while so you want to make the most of it.

"But being away is not too bad, you're doing so much you're distracted from it. There are nights when you're thinking a bit and to be honest you do feel a bit fed up.

"You want to have the home comforts of Ireland but then again you think that you've a good enough life over here. You're not going to throw it away in a heartbeat. This is where my career lies right now.

"We don't know what might happen in two years but you can't be thinking about home much or it'd have you down.

"It was nice to get back but you're not missing much in Ireland. You miss the county and playing GAA with the boys back home but other than that, it's nice to have the chance to be a professional."

O'Riordan was at the heart of the Premier county's emergence as a football force, winning a minor All-Ireland in 2011 and captaining them to Munster U-21 glory last year, and his new role of outsider is an odd one for him.

"At the start it was hard to get my head around. They're going at the winter slog and as bad as it sounds, that's what I miss, and being with lads I've grown up with since U-14. But you must get over that pretty quick," he says.

He holds great hope for their future despite a string of high-profile losses, saying: "Tipp football is on the up and hopefully this year they can make more strides.

"Missing a few players shouldn't stop them. They should be pushing on and giving it a real rattle. We've shown we can compete with anyone at underage and it's just a matter of transferring it to senior level."

O'Riordan faces a different challenge this year, and he can be regularly seen with the oval ball in hand off the training ground as he knows he must work "four times harder than the Australians to make it".

He has already inherited Mike Pyke's No 38 jersey and Swans hall of famer Tadhg Kennelly has heaped praise on his attitude thus far, saying O'Riordan's drive, both on and off the pitch, is clear to see.

"It's easy to rest on your laurels and if you do you'll be taken down a peg pretty quick. You always have to push for more," O'Riordan says.

The extraordinary will to win and self-belief which separated him from others in Ireland looks likely to propel him to success 15,000km away in Australia.

Tipperary's loss is certainly Sydney's gain.

 

[CD__]

Interesting hearing that 'eat, train, sleep, repeat' line again from another player after Mills said it yesterday...sounds like the boys are spending longer at the club than ever before.

 

[Lakeside Swan]

How come all irish blokes look irish?

Goodesy doesn't

 

[grimlock]

Colin O'RIORDAN

NEAFL stats

O'Riordan had a great first season in 2016, especially for someone who had never played the game before and ended up being named in the NEAFL Team of the Year. His season ended early when he suffered a punctured lung in a NEAFL game in the NT, and famously had to be driven back the 4000km by Dennis Carroll and a doctor.

He suffered a slight case of the second year blues when opposition teams knew how damaging he was and limited his output. But he has bounced back incredibly well this year to play consistently impressive footy and has lately spent time in the midfield as a further extension to his football education, The numbers themselves show his offensive improvement, but due to the limited stats we get at NEAFL level they fail to highlight the defensive side of his game. He is a good reader of the play and takes numerous intercept marks per game.

He has always been a fantastic kick from the start but his handballs were poorly executed. However he has improved to such an extent that it is no longer a noticeable weakness. He is relatively quick but not express

Stat | 2018 | 2017 | 2016
\ Totals |||
\Games|11|16|17
\Bests|8|3|9
\1st|2|1|4
\2nd|0|0|0
\3rd|2|1|1
\4th|1|0|2
\5th|2|0|2
\6th|1|1|0
\Goals|4|5|5
\Behinds|2|4|2
\ Averages |||
\Disposals|28.7|19.4|19.6
\Kicks|17.0|11.1|10.9
\Handballs|11.7|8.3|8.8
\Marks|8.6|5.3|3.8
\Tackles|2.9|1.9|2.3
\Clearances|1.2|0.4|1.5
\Inside 50s|3.2|2.3|2.6
\Rebound 50s|5.0|3.0|2.8
\Frees For|1.1|0.4|0.6
\Frees Against|1.4|0.7|1.1
\Dream Team|111.4|73.8|70.0

 

[Nebley]

I concur ...
This really could change the paradigm.

If he can slot in and own the running back role and Dane can master Mal's kicking game with Jones in support, we may just have a game worth playing.

Makes much more sense than having Rohan or Jetta back there.

By the time he's ready for seniors it probably won't be a deficiency for us anymore.

These were from 2015. Just reading back through the thread and thought it was amusing, absolutely correct in that it took him some time to debut, unfortunately the deficiency still stands. Maybe after all this time the one the prophecies spoke of, who could break lines and hit targets, has finally arisen.