[ad_1]
Australian Rules star Mark O’Connor has revealed that he would have been available to field Kerry for the remainder of the Championship, if Peter Keane’s men had not been eliminated in the closing seconds by Cork in the Munster semi-final in beginnings of November.
The 23-year-old Dingle man, speaking on Radio Kerry’s Terrace Talk, confirmed that he had been in contact with Kingdom’s manager over the past months to find out about the possibilities of being available to the team, and that his club Geelong Cats, had given her permission to line up in green and gold.
However, with the Cats going all the way to the AFL Grand Final on October 24, where they lost 81-50 to the Richmond Tigers at the Gabba in Brisbane, Ireland’s former junior winning captain was going through his quarantine period. at the time of Kerry’s trip to Páirc Uí Chaoimh on November 8.
“It was obviously very disappointing for Kerry. I was watching it myself. It’s funny, I had actually gotten permission from Geelong to play, but I was quarantined for Cork’s game so obviously I couldn’t have done it then, ”he said.
“Yes, I would have been available if they had passed, but that’s unfortunate. This is how sport works, I guess. If Geelong hadn’t gotten that far, it was the fact that we made it to the Grand Final that obviously made me stay in Australia a bit longer.
“It just meant that I would have to quarantine for two weeks here a little later so it lasted too long. It was something planned, that if we had succeeded, I would have been available at least. ”
O’Connor is philosophical about the whole situation, though he admits it hurt to see Mitchelstown’s Mark Keane, who had returned to Ireland before him after Collingwood’s departure during the play-offs, come off the bench to break the hearts of Kerry with his winning goal to death.
“Ah well, I couldn’t control it. Obviously Mark Keane too, sinking Kerry’s ship, it was heartbreaking to watch. But look, I had no control over that. It has happened now so I can’t really regret it.
“Yes, Peter and I were in contact for a few months, just talking about the possibilities. In fairness to Geelong, they were very welcoming.
“I probably didn’t do a great job of explaining how much it meant to me to play for Dingle that time before, until I came back later, and then they probably understood a bit more. Once I made my case about Dingle that time, they welcomed the idea of me playing, but it obviously didn’t work out this year. They were very good at justice. ”
O’Connor, who will turn 24 in mid-January and has a contract in Australia until 2022, is very open to the idea of playing for Kerry if he has a similar opportunity in the coming seasons.
“Of course. Obviously if I am injury free and can travel home at the end of the season, it is definitely something I would like to do,” he emphasized.
With Na Gaeil’s Stefan Okunbor also in Geelong’s books, O’Connor has high hopes for Dingle’s clubmate Deividas Uosis, Kerry’s goalkeeper in Ireland’s October U-20 semi-final loss to Galway, who He will soon forge his own path in the AFL after signing a two-year deal with the Brisbane Lions earlier in the year.
“I met him yesterday at the gym, Deividas is always working hard. Your mind is very much on it, it is very interested, it has been waiting for you for a while. Obviously I wish him all the best and I am sure he will do a good job. “
[ad_2]