Nixon sets sights on Aiden O'Shea deal

[INDIANA]

We are on the way to becoming a League of Ireland to the AFL's Premiership.

Young players will be measured on whether or not they went to Oz for a trial and sadly the good ones mightn't come back.

So far there is no formal set up and all we have is Nixon floating around but it could get worse which might leave us with a Hobson's choice.

While I understand your poiint, it's not as simple as that surely. The players who might be suited to the code switch aren't always the ones who are most talented at Gaelic football, although that certainly helps. Colm Cooper would never have got an AFL contract if he wanted to go for instance.

Only ones that have made it have been excellent gaelic players because the aussies only look for the best. Bar a genetic freak like SOH an average GAA players has no chance.

[RedandGreenSniper]

We are on the way to becoming a League of Ireland to the AFL's Premiership.

Young players will be measured on whether or not they went to Oz for a trial and sadly the good ones mightn't come back.

So far there is no formal set up and all we have is Nixon floating around but it could get worse which might leave us with a Hobson's choice.

While I understand your poiint, it's not as simple as that surely. The players who might be suited to the code switch aren't always the ones who are most talented at Gaelic football, although that certainly helps. Colm Cooper would never have got an AFL contract if he wanted to go for instance.

Only ones that have made it have been excellent gaelic players because the aussies only look for the best. Bar a genetic freak like SOH an average GAA players has no chance.

Could have sworn Setanta was quite the hurler myself.

[HeaveHo]

The annual AFL draft yesterday.

Some 1300 hopefuls nominated for around 75 spots. The only Irish connection was the elevation of Pearce Hanley from the rookie list to the senior list. 

[Sionnach]

We are on the way to becoming a League of Ireland to the AFL's Premiership.

Young players will be measured on whether or not they went to Oz for a trial and sadly the good ones mightn't come back.

So far there is no formal set up and all we have is Nixon floating around but it could get worse which might leave us with a Hobson's choice.

While I understand your poiint, it's not as simple as that surely. The players who might be suited to the code switch aren't always the ones who are most talented at Gaelic football, although that certainly helps. Colm Cooper would never have got an AFL contract if he wanted to go for instance.

Only ones that have made it have been excellent gaelic players because the aussies only look for the best. Bar a genetic freak like SOH an average GAA players has no chance.

I didn't suggest otherwise. What does that have to do with what I said? Point is that the subset  of players who might be suited to the switch, while usually excellent Gaelic footballers, overlaps with but is not the same as the subset who are the best Gaelic footballers.  Martin Clarke for example was probably Down's best underage player at the time he went. Jamie O'Reilly on the other hand, who has recently taken up a contract, probably isn't. And Colm Cooper would never have got a contract had he tried to get into the AFL.

[spuds]

We are on the way to becoming a League of Ireland to the AFL's Premiership.

Young players will be measured on whether or not they went to Oz for a trial and sadly the good ones mightn't come back.

So far there is no formal set up and all we have is Nixon floating around but it could get worse which might leave us with a Hobson's choice.

While I understand your poiint, it's not as simple as that surely. The players who might be suited to the code switch aren't always the ones who are most talented at Gaelic football, although that certainly helps. Colm Cooper would never have got an AFL contract if he wanted to go for instance.

Only ones that have made it have been excellent gaelic players because the aussies only look for the best. Bar a genetic freak like SOH an average GAA players has no chance.

Dunno what your eating but only freek is urself setanta played for cork be4 going down there shur our own liam tunney and jas gibbons mighty men and deserve a call

[Tubberman]

Well this isn't good news. 
Still, at least the decision is a year away.

Article take from hoganstand.com

O'Shea offered AFL contract
04 December 2009
Mayo's Aidan O'Shea has been offered an international rookie contract by Aussie Rules club Western Bulldogs.

However, the 19-year-old Breaffy clubman won't be signing any deal until this time next year at the earliest, which means he will be available to Mayo next year.

O'Shea, who came to prominence during Mayo's run to last year's All-Ireland minor final and has since established himself as a regular in John O'Mahony's senior team, has spent the past fortnight on trial with the Bulldogs.

Before flying out to Melbourne, he had given John O'Mahony his word that he would be available for selection in 2010.

Bulldogs' head coach Rodney Eade said that the club would be monitoring O'Shea through sports agent Ricky Nixon and his Ireland-based talent-scouting team. The club will also endeavour to send a member of the coaching staff to the country to check on his progress before inviting him to return to Whitten Oval next year.

"He's a bit more of a power forward than a running-type player. He's got good agility and he's a good competitor with good hands," Eade said.

[ballinaman]

Bollix...........always gonna happen though. Fair play to him.

[AbbeySider]

That news brings its own dilemmas to the table and raises a few questions in my head.

Since O Shea will eventually be Oz bound, should we focus on him playing at Full Forward, even though he is set to leave Mayo football next year?

Should we waste our time with him when we are in the building phase we are in, since he wont be with us in the future?

Ill give you a situation at club level.
If you had a club player, would you play him in the Senior club championship even though he would be leaving for the USA after the first championship game of the season ?
My own opinion on the club scenario would be that I wouldnt play the player in the early rounds of the league and championship as he wont be around for the duration of it.
I would give someone else the experience and games so the when the team settles, the player leaving wont upset things. You would also be developing that players eventual replacement, and when the time comes he wont be thrown in the deep-end to cover for the player that would be leaving.

So at county level, should we cut our losses, nip this in the bud and play to the strengths that we will have without O Shea and bring it in a new direction now rather than suffer the upset when he does leave?

Should the likes of Barry Moran be give a proper chance at Full-Forward the focus on the other players that we will have going forward?

Is it pointless to play O Shea at foll forward and let a team settle and get used to it when we dont have a hope in hell of winning an All-Ireland with or without him?

Is this different than an older player retiring earlier to make room for players that will be there in the future?

Im just throwing these questions out there as you have to think long-term. I would keep O Shea involved but he wouldnt be my focus.

For what its worth, I really rate him as one of the best young talents to come through in generations but are we fooling ourselves with sticking with someone who wont be there in the future?

[ballinaman]

Personally, i think you have to field the best team available and O'Shea would start in that case. I see your point about upsetting the team following his departure but that would only happen if he left mid way through the season. He's committed to the full campaign this season by the sounds of it. The team will have plenty of time to settle next autumn/winter after he goes. His departure will be a kick in the stones of mayo football....but football doesn't stop in Mayo, there will be players in a few years to replace him......hopefully

[AbbeySider]

Personally, i think you have to field the best team available and O'Shea would start in that case. I see your point about upsetting the team following his departure but that would only happen if he left mid way through the season. He's committed to the full campaign this season by the sounds of it. The team will have plenty of time to settle next autumn/winter after he goes. His departure will be a kick in the stones of mayo football....but football doesn't stop in Mayo, there will be players in a few years to replace him......hopefully

Its hard to know if he should be playing though if he wont be there. Lord knows that we over relied on him in the few games he did play.

Or am I just cutting off my nose to spite my face?

[southsidejohnny]

Abbeysider I have often read your posts and find them excellent. Please dont buy into this "rebuilding" bull that JOM has codded us into. We are at this since late 2006, the bits that are so called rebuilt i.e Parsons, Campell and Cunniffe have fallen asunder for diffrent reasons. Let us get a team together that will actually win the next match, that is all that matters. One mans rebuilding programme will be dumped out the door by the man who follows him. So if O Shea is good enough and we dont overload him, then, lets use him. And while I am at if Kevin O Neill, McDonald and Aiden Higgins are good enough lets use them as well instead of the mini mes that currently populate the team. 

[ballinaman]

Ya, i'd agree sj. Play your best team to win the next game, i see where you are comming from abbeysider though at the same time!!!It is a tough call, pro's and con's to each action. You don't know what will happen in the future, the here and now is that O'Shea has to play....

[AbbeySider]

Let us get a team together that will actually win the next match, that is all that matters. O

Play your best team to win the next game...

I suppose thats what has to be done! Play your best team to win the next game. O Shea is too good as a FF to leave on the bench, I was just throwing out the argument that its possible that the whole thing shouldnt be built around him when he wont be around.

Either way, himself and Pearse Hanly are huige losses to the county. Both being forwards is even worse as we are lacking fire-power. (I know, we dont have many decent defenders either). But losing O Shea now will set us back years.

It really is a make or break year for JOM. If he doent at least win the league, get a Connaught title and get to at least a Semi final with a good showing (if not win the fecking thing) then I think his days are numbered.

Its getting obvious that we have in fact gone backwards since he took over and last year against Meath proved it.

[AbbeySider]

latest update from the MayoNews:

O'Shea returns from OZ


Mayo footballer is back home after his Australian Rules trial

Mike Finnerty

MAYO footballer Aidan O'Shea returned from his two-week Australian Rules trial on Sunday — and immediately turned his attention to the new GAA season which begins next month.
The Breaffy teenager spent the last fortnight in Melbourne on trial with the Western Bulldogs club but, despite speculation about his future plans, O'Shea is fully committed to Mayo in 2010.
"I said before I went that I was committing to Mayo football for 2010 and nothing has changed in that regard," he told The Mayo News yesterday (Monday).
"The Western Bulldogs are going to monitor me over the coming months but there's no question of any deal being done. I'm playing for Mayo next year and not looking beyond that at the moment.
"I'm glad I went out," he added. "It broadened my horizons. My fitness levels have definitely improved too, and I was working with a dietician out there which won't do me any harm.
"I think going on trial will improve me as a footballer, and help my lifestyle. I believe it will stand to me in the future, in 2010 and beyond."
The 19 years-old was preparing to return to his studies in Dublin yesterday, less than twenty-four hours after stepping off his flight home from Australia. O'Shea was understandably tired, after being put through a gruelling two-week trial, but he was also reflecting very positively on his first Australian Rules experience.
"I knew going out it was going to be tough, it wasn't going to be a holiday," he said. "The big thing that struck me was the constant intensity of the training, every day.
"During the days we were cycling or running or boxing or swimming, and then we did weights in the evenings. There was always something different. I went straight to bed when I got home because I was wrecked, so I didn't get to see much of Melbourne.
"But I enjoyed it to the extent that the training was beneficial to me. It was bonus pre-season training for me really, in terms of getting fit for next season with Mayo."