Recent content by Clubber79

Tackling ability comes from rugby yes, everything else is gaelic football. I don't know how familiar people here are with the game, but a typical phase of play could involve a series of quick linking hand passes through the middle, a scramble for possession on the ground, or the ball 'breaks'...

Delighted to see Conor doing so well and it raises an interesting question. The midfield role in AFL is quite a bit different to the midfield role in gaelic games, which Conor would have grown up playing. In gaelic football, a lot of our elite level midfielders (they play as a pair) would be...

I absolutely love Conor, and it's a treat to watch him developing into the player he is now, but I think it's understandable why Mullin's debut got so much attention. I mean, I've had more cups of coffee today than he's played competitive games of aussie rules in his entire life. And I don't...

Torch him is maybe a bit OTT. However, having watched both of them for a few years now, if somebody asked me who Mayo's fastest player was, I wouldn't even hesitate to say Eoghan McLaughlin. Despite that, I would argue that Oisin's functional speed for field sports, i.e. short burst...

If Oisin was still in Ireland, he would have played for Mayo against the reigning all-Ireland champions, Kerry, the week before last. The guy that scores the goal @ 04:20 would probably torch him in a straight-line race. Mayo have a habit of producing seriously fast attacking defenders (if...

In Ireland, you represent your parish/village club team and if you're good enough you represent your county, but you still play for both, although the seasons don't overlap as much as they used to. So Oisin would have played for Kilmaine (club) and Mayo (county). I played with a guy years ago...

As someone who grew up playing gaelic football, I can tell you that although there are some times when you will drop it onto your laces and 'punt' the ball, usually when you are running straight on with tacklers moving in from either side, the natural tendency is to shape the kick from one side...

That's a good point that shouldn't be overlooked in terms of how it has affected his development in the relatively short time he's been at the club. Seems like the coaching staff are managing him through it pretty well, so it will be interesting to see how they feel about throwing him in for...

Great to see Oisin get a taste of first team action so soon, but it should of course be viewed in the context of his overall development. He's a natural hard-running half-back player who loves bursting into open country and going on the attack. The defensive nuances may take him more time to...

I don't think so. Hurling wouldn't be as popular as gaelic football in Meath so a lot of guys would play football only. In other counties like Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick etc. it would be the opposite, i.e. hurling is the first choice.

He was initially scouted while playing gaelic football for his school. He did play representative rugby as well. Won a county gaelic football championship with his club (their first ever) just before leaving for Hawthorn. I'd imagine he was recruited as a GAA player who was also pretty good at...

There's been a lot of interesting comments since I posted this so I think I have a pretty good picture of where Conor is in his development now. He would have played nearly all of his gaelic football in the middle of the park, although the midfielder role is quite different compared with aussie...

What's the general 'Hawthorn Fan" assessment of how Conor is developing as an AFL player given his age, non-AFL background etc.? He's from the same county as me back home so I try to follow his progress, but it's really difficult to get an accurate sense of how he's going this season as the...

He looks pretty comfortable in that highlights video from his first VFL game. All he needs is time to learn the game really. He's a quick learner though, so those who thought he was miles off it after his first practice match could be eating their words in a couple of months. 😉

Oisin's natural game in gaelic football is breaking lines and counter attacking. He is probably very conscious of the fact that if he tries that in Aussie rules, particularly at this stage, he could be tackled and cough up a turnover. I would say the coaches are keeping it very simple for him at...