CARLTON BLUES IRISH trio are to play together for the first time in an Australian Rules game tomorrow.
Zach Tuohy, Ciaran Sheehan and Ciaran Byrne have all been named in the 29-man squad for the game which sees Carlton face West Coast Eagles in their NAB Challenge Opener. The game takes place tomorrow at 8.10am Irish time in the Western Australian city of Mandurah.
The game brings together the Laois, Cork and Louth players for a game in the pre-season competition as preparations build up to the start of the 2015 AFL season in early April.
20 year-old Byrne has been fast-tracked into the first-team squad after joining the club in November 2013. Sheehan joined Carlton in the same month before making his AFL debut last August while Tuohy is an established player having amassed over 70 AFL appearances for Carlton.
Opponents West Coast Eagles have not included Kildare’s Paddy Brophy in their squad for the game. Brophy made his debut last week against the Indigenous All Stars but several senior players have been brought back in to their squad for tomorrow’s game.
Rob Wiley, who is standing in for Mick Malthouse as Carlton coach this weekend, was full of praise for the trio when speaking to the Carlton audioBoom channel.
“We’re just about ready to have an all-Irish backline with three of the boys lining up. Very exciting. It’d be hard to think that there’s another AFL club out there that would have suited up three Irish guys. That’s exciting in itself.
“All the boys are really going well. Zach’s had a great pre-season. He had probably a quiet year last year and I think Gussy Sheehan has come on from last year and Ciaran Byrne has come from nowhere. He’s really progressed nicely. So it augurs well for the future of Carlton Footy Club.”
