By Matt Burgan 5:05 PM Fri 14 August, 2009
Richmond Football Club has signed its first Irish player
RICHMOND has signed County Down's James O'Reilly – the club's first Irish recruit – as an international rookie for the 2010-11 seasons.
The 21-year-old has just completed a three-week trial with the Tigers and will go home for roughly two months before returning to Punt Rd.
With a long summer ahead of him, O'Reilly said he was already relishing the fact he was about to embark on an AFL career.
"It really is [great news]. It was unexpected. I got the call about it about May time this year and it was just totally out of the blue. Actually, I thought at the time it was someone winding me up," O'Reilly told richmondfc.com.au.
"I just took it from there and then they (Richmond) offered me a trial and in the end, when my senior commitment with the Down senior team was over, I came out and took the three-week trial, which has gone fantastically, from start to finish."
He acknowledged it was a feather in his cap to be the first Irish player at Tigerland.
"It is indeed. Other clubs have tried before and Richmond has decided to pursue a recruitment scheme … just to see if they can pick up any extra players. I've been very fortunate enough to be the one they picked and I'm very grateful of that," O'Reilly said.
"Hopefully I can have a lasting impact on the club, rather than that being the only accolade (the first Irish Richmond player). I'd like to be here for a while."
O'Reilly, who has just completed his first senior season with Down, came through the under 18s and under 21s in Ireland. He has also been juggling business management studies in Belfast with his Gaelic Athletic Association career.
He likened his style of play to a half-back/midfielder.
"I'd describe myself as a link-up man, with defence and attack and chipping in with a couple of scores here and there. I'm just generally a running player, really," he said.
Although he wasn't aware of any other AFL clubs' interest in him, he never considered Australian football as an option until Richmond recruiting manager Francis Jackson approached him about trialing with the club.
"Francis Jackson was over with the [player manager] Ricky Nixon [and his recruiting] group in Ireland looking at some Irish players. They happened to be attending the All-Star under-21 final in March time, between us and Armagh," he explained.
"I was fortunate enough to have played quite well in that game and they had the opportunity to watch me again on the weekend following that victory, when we were playing Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final.
"I played reasonably well again, so he (Jackson) decided that he liked what he had seen and felt that I had some qualities that might swap over from the round-ball game to the oval-ball. I did the fitness test in Ireland and then I came out where we are now."
He said the opportunity to play another sport at the elite level was a driving motivation and so far his brief taste at Punt Rd had been a great experience.
"Everyone at the club has basically become like a member of the family already – everyone has made me feel right at home and couldn't be more welcoming," he said.
"Everyone couldn't do enough for me, so it's made the transition coming over so easy."
The other only AFL-listed Irish player he knows is Collingwood's Marty Clarke, who also played for County Down.
"I never played much [with Clarke], but I was on the 2005 Down minor side that won the All-Ireland that year, when he was running the show basically," he said with a laugh.
Asked if he would have any family following him out to Australia, O'Reilly said "it could be a talking point", but he wouldn't be surprised if one or two of his three brothers (he also has a sister) is tempted to follow his path.
"Ben, the brother just younger than me, he's 19 years of age … and he played on the under-21 team with me this year. I might kick the ball with Ben and try and encourage him," he said.
"Since it's come about, he's shown a lot more interest in AFL and I'm sure if the opportunity came his own way, he'd think similarly to myself – that it would be something he'd have to grab with both hands."
for richmondfc.com.au
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/82750/default.aspx
