IF THERE’S ANY group of people plugged into the realities and fantasies of Mayo football, it has to be the three-headed beast of the Mayo Football Podcast; Rob Murphy, Mike Finnerty and John Gunnigan.
And nothing grabs their attention quite like the departure of Kobe McDonald from these shores to pursue a career in Australian Rules Football with St Kilda.
In order to be that much invested in Mayo football and their savage hunger for former glories, you have to be a hopeless romantic. And in Kobe McDonald – a mere boy of 17 let’s not forget – they had an obvious landing point for their affections for the next 15 years. At least.
From he first appeared on the team sheets in Mayo Development Squads, there has been a buzz around the son of Ciarán McDonald, backed up by various clips on heavy rotation.
This year he fetched up as a debutante in the Mayo championship and ended up the shiniest jewel, the centre of attention.
In losing to Westport in the semi-final, he scored 0-10. His athleticism, running power and dead-ball striking throughout the late summer was gorgeous. He was the whole package. Was.
“How do you square the fact that we are an amateur sport and such an elite level talent is usually going to graduate to a professional sport?” says Rob Murphy.
“David Clifford is an unusual example and there are others. But by and large, there will be a pathway to professional sports. It’s hard to imagine Mayo developing that kind of elite talent too often. We are talking superstar talent, as opposed to the All-Star talent we have had over the years.”
Watching McDonald’s talent blossom in senior football has been a pleasure for Mayo football followers.
In Murphy’s Centra shop in Ballinrobe, the exotic name of Kobe is being whispered and bellowed around the hot food counter and coffee machines. He has his theories and the comings and goings of a shop provides ample opportunity to workshop them.
“The evidence is clear,” says Murphy.
“You could say with certainty that he is an extraordinary talent and there is no disputing that.
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“You could dissect how that talent would develop into his adult life. Most experts are saying that injuries and bad luck aside, he is an exceptional footballer.”
The giddy part of the Mayo support was inclined to believe that Kobe could be some kind of cheat code in Gaelic football that would bring them back to previous levels of competitiveness, or, gulp, even secure that Sam Maguire.
Murphy errs on caution when crazy talk. “It is a difficult one. I have sympathy for fans being disappointed because we just want to watch great players play football and that is completely understandable, leaving All-Irelands out of it.
“And I think it is a blow to what we are trying to do, to lose a talent like that, and there is no hiding from that.
“But, maybe there was way too much certainty in what we were expecting from him. Any pathway forward for Mayo to change what they are doing, has to be built around the models that Donegal, Armagh and Tyrone have managed in the past; to take a group, a unit and a way of playing that disrupts the Status Quo.”
Down in Kerry, there is a similar picture with the departure of Ben Murphy from Austin Stacks to Brisbane Lions, where he will join a club with a growing Irish identity.
This summer, he slotted into the Stacks midfield alongside Joe O’Connor.
Former Kerry footballer John Kennedy had a perfect view of his championship appearances in his co-commentary role with Radio Kerry.
“He is a big physical guy, he is mobile, he has good feet, good hands and he is a superb footballer and he ticks a lot of boxes for the Aussie Rules,” says Kennedy.
“His fitness levels are exceptional. He went into the middle of the park with Joe O’Connor for Stacks as an 18-year-old and he was in line for Man of the Match in a few of the games and in the county final he kicked three points from play on a bad day against a very good Dingle side.
“It gives an idea of the ability that he has. Obviously, he has been earmarked as a future Kerry star, but unfortunately, he is heading away and all we can do is wish him well.”
This year, it’s Ben Murphy.
Ben Murphy. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Last year it was Cillian Burke who joined Dingle man Mark O’Connor at Geelong Cats.
Before that, Rob Monahan headed off to Carlton Blues.
Kerry are clearly being hit harder than most. And while the mood in the county is not positive around these departures, could you imagine it if Kerry were in a five-year drought without an All-Ireland?
“In Kerry we are producing a lot of good underage footballers, the coaching system is very good down here,” explains Kennedy.
“But at the end of the day it is an individual decision. If it came to your door, would you say no? Not at all.
“It’s a lifetime opportunity in a professional sport.
“Look at Kobe McDonald as well. These are talented footballers that the GAA need and whatever county you support, you always acknowledge class and good footballers. We don’t want to be losing them from our game, but we are.”
As an amateur sport, the GAA have no claim to these players. Talk of compensation is fanciful.
What we are not so good at considering is that for every Michael Murphy, David Clifford and Sean Cavanagh that turned down the chance to play AFL, the opportunity has never been more inviting.
With Irish players now seemingly featuring annually in The Grand Final, their stories are being carried back across home. Oisín Mullins’ parents went over to see him when the competition was hotting up and Geelong Cats were in the thick of their post-season.
The club paid for their flights, and accommodation. The Cats reached and won the final, with Mullins’ parents and brother present.
Children grow up now watching the sport. It is not the exotic bird that it was when Jim Stynes and Sean Wight made such an impact with Melbourne Demons in the ‘80s.
In the end, it comes down to a simple choice; go and play professional sport in a country with a superior climate, with clubs that have refined their care of players to push a rounded education. With huge wages.
Or stay about to bounce between club and county for twelve-month seasons, in a country where you have a slim chance of even owning your own home?
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Bye bye Kobe and Ben, don't forget to send a postcard from Australia
IF THERE’S ANY group of people plugged into the realities and fantasies of Mayo football, it has to be the three-headed beast of the Mayo Football Podcast; Rob Murphy, Mike Finnerty and John Gunnigan.
And nothing grabs their attention quite like the departure of Kobe McDonald from these shores to pursue a career in Australian Rules Football with St Kilda.
In order to be that much invested in Mayo football and their savage hunger for former glories, you have to be a hopeless romantic. And in Kobe McDonald – a mere boy of 17 let’s not forget – they had an obvious landing point for their affections for the next 15 years. At least.
From he first appeared on the team sheets in Mayo Development Squads, there has been a buzz around the son of Ciarán McDonald, backed up by various clips on heavy rotation.
This year he fetched up as a debutante in the Mayo championship and ended up the shiniest jewel, the centre of attention.
In losing to Westport in the semi-final, he scored 0-10. His athleticism, running power and dead-ball striking throughout the late summer was gorgeous. He was the whole package. Was.
“How do you square the fact that we are an amateur sport and such an elite level talent is usually going to graduate to a professional sport?” says Rob Murphy.
“David Clifford is an unusual example and there are others. But by and large, there will be a pathway to professional sports. It’s hard to imagine Mayo developing that kind of elite talent too often. We are talking superstar talent, as opposed to the All-Star talent we have had over the years.”
Watching McDonald’s talent blossom in senior football has been a pleasure for Mayo football followers.
In Murphy’s Centra shop in Ballinrobe, the exotic name of Kobe is being whispered and bellowed around the hot food counter and coffee machines. He has his theories and the comings and goings of a shop provides ample opportunity to workshop them.
“The evidence is clear,” says Murphy.
“You could say with certainty that he is an extraordinary talent and there is no disputing that.
“You could dissect how that talent would develop into his adult life. Most experts are saying that injuries and bad luck aside, he is an exceptional footballer.”
The giddy part of the Mayo support was inclined to believe that Kobe could be some kind of cheat code in Gaelic football that would bring them back to previous levels of competitiveness, or, gulp, even secure that Sam Maguire.
Murphy errs on caution when crazy talk. “It is a difficult one. I have sympathy for fans being disappointed because we just want to watch great players play football and that is completely understandable, leaving All-Irelands out of it.
“And I think it is a blow to what we are trying to do, to lose a talent like that, and there is no hiding from that.
“But, maybe there was way too much certainty in what we were expecting from him. Any pathway forward for Mayo to change what they are doing, has to be built around the models that Donegal, Armagh and Tyrone have managed in the past; to take a group, a unit and a way of playing that disrupts the Status Quo.”
Down in Kerry, there is a similar picture with the departure of Ben Murphy from Austin Stacks to Brisbane Lions, where he will join a club with a growing Irish identity.
This summer, he slotted into the Stacks midfield alongside Joe O’Connor.
Former Kerry footballer John Kennedy had a perfect view of his championship appearances in his co-commentary role with Radio Kerry.
“His fitness levels are exceptional. He went into the middle of the park with Joe O’Connor for Stacks as an 18-year-old and he was in line for Man of the Match in a few of the games and in the county final he kicked three points from play on a bad day against a very good Dingle side.
“It gives an idea of the ability that he has. Obviously, he has been earmarked as a future Kerry star, but unfortunately, he is heading away and all we can do is wish him well.”
This year, it’s Ben Murphy.
Last year it was Cillian Burke who joined Dingle man Mark O’Connor at Geelong Cats.
Before that, Rob Monahan headed off to Carlton Blues.
Kerry are clearly being hit harder than most. And while the mood in the county is not positive around these departures, could you imagine it if Kerry were in a five-year drought without an All-Ireland?
“In Kerry we are producing a lot of good underage footballers, the coaching system is very good down here,” explains Kennedy.
“But at the end of the day it is an individual decision. If it came to your door, would you say no? Not at all.
“It’s a lifetime opportunity in a professional sport.
“Look at Kobe McDonald as well. These are talented footballers that the GAA need and whatever county you support, you always acknowledge class and good footballers. We don’t want to be losing them from our game, but we are.”
As an amateur sport, the GAA have no claim to these players. Talk of compensation is fanciful.
What we are not so good at considering is that for every Michael Murphy, David Clifford and Sean Cavanagh that turned down the chance to play AFL, the opportunity has never been more inviting.
With Irish players now seemingly featuring annually in The Grand Final, their stories are being carried back across home. Oisín Mullins’ parents went over to see him when the competition was hotting up and Geelong Cats were in the thick of their post-season.
The club paid for their flights, and accommodation. The Cats reached and won the final, with Mullins’ parents and brother present.
Children grow up now watching the sport. It is not the exotic bird that it was when Jim Stynes and Sean Wight made such an impact with Melbourne Demons in the ‘80s.
In the end, it comes down to a simple choice; go and play professional sport in a country with a superior climate, with clubs that have refined their care of players to push a rounded education. With huge wages.
Or stay about to bounce between club and county for twelve-month seasons, in a country where you have a slim chance of even owning your own home?
Would you begrudge Kobe and Ben?
Only a fool would.
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AFL Ben Murphy code breakers CODE CHANGERS Down Under GAA Kerry Kobe McDonald Mayo