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Tipperary’s senior footballers have gotten a big boost from the news that Sydney Swans star Colin O’Riordan has been cleared by his AFL club to play in next weekend’s Munster final against Cork.
The powerful midfielder was one of the best young footballers in the country when he was drafted by the Swans to the AFL in 2015 and has been a massive loss to Tipp’s footballers since he turned pro.
His Australian career has been stunted by injuries at times, but he has played 23 games since his debut in 2018, eight of them last season.
O’Riordan is now well on track to cement a position in the club’s evolving last six in 2021 after making steady progress through the ranks since his AFL debut in Round 17, 2018 and participating in 12 senior games in 2019. .
O’Riordan has impressed everyone at the club with his leadership and ability to knock down opponents along with his ability to run and charge.
The Templemore man has returned to Ireland for the past few weeks and has been linked to train with Tipp’s footballers since his return.
O’Riordan, a born leader and highly accomplished pitcher, won an All-Ireland minor medal with Tipperary in 2011 and four years later was the county captain in a final All-Ireland U21 appearance against Tyrone, beating players like Cork and Dublin by the way.
Since his return home, he has been eager to return to the blue and gold jersey, but Sydney Swans rejected his applications, who last year granted him a two-year contract extension and feared he would be injured if on GAA duty.
However, O’Riordan persisted in his efforts to play for Tipp again and on Wednesday morning he finally received official clearance to play for his county once again.
On Wednesday night he informed his teammates in training that he had been cleared to play and was again available for selection.
He will now be considered for play against Cork, who reached the provincial final thanks to a late goal from another AFL star, Mark Keane, who had received Collingwood’s permission to play Kerry.
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