The life of O'Reillyrichmondfc.com.au
By Mic Cullen
4:12 PM Fri 30 July, 2010LOVING footy is something most of us do - Saturday afternoon at the MCG can be the highlight of the week.
But would you travel halfway around the world, away from kith and kin, to be part of it?
As another Gaelic football export who has moved from Ireland to try his hand at AFL, Jamie O’Reilly has done just that.
O’Reilly came to the Tigers’ attention early last season when recruiting manager Francis Jackson spotted him on a scouting trip to the Emerald Isle, and invited him to Punt Road for a trial.
Keeping a ball in your hands, all day, every day - Ben Cousins-style - was clearly helping to develop familiarity with the new shape, and a couple of Sherrins departed for Ireland with O’Reilly after the three weeks.
That investment paid off when he was offered a two-year international rookie contract by the club at the end of 2009.
The 22-year-old has put a commerce degree course on hold as he pursues his AFL dream.
“I’m really loving it,” he told richmondfc.com.au.
“It’s everything that I expected it would be, living the professional lifestyle. At home I had a part-time job, was studying full-time and had football five or six nights a week for all different teams.
“So it’s good to be able to concentrate all of my energy on one thing.
“The coaching staff and all our players having faith in me during game is a lot of help in terms of my own motivation and just being comfortable in this environment, whereas if you felt that people didn’t have confidence in you to hit the kick or make the handball or make the tackle, it would make things a lot more difficult.”
O’Reilly said while the transition to AFL was difficult in some aspects, the fact that he was coming from a game that required 360-degree awareness helped enormously.
However, he struggled initially with the pace and length of the game, finding it difficult to adapt to the stop-start nature of the play.
Listed in the AFL media guide as 185cm and 80kg - although he has put on significant muscle since moving into the system - and coming from Gaelic football, it’s not surprising that he’s being groomed as a running half-back.
He’s picked some good role models, forensically dissecting their tapes and watching them live whenever he can.
“I watch a few different players who I watch - obviously Tadhg Kennelly, because I play a similar position, and he’s come a similar route to the game as I have - Lindsay Gilbee and Jarrod Harbrow from the Bulldogs, and Heath Shaw of Collingwood.
“They’re all hard-running gut-runners who use the ball well and are really directional, always calling to teammates where to get the ball, and reading the play.
“Their game’s all about reading the play and anticipation, which are some of my strengths that I can implement here to make me a good player.”
Tim Clarke, who played 96 games for the Hawks and is now a development coach at Richmond, said the Irishman had been elevated from the rookie list - and thus be on the verge of selection - because of his huge work ethic and desire to learn.
"He’s worked tirelessly with myself, with Dave (Newett, Coburg coach) and with the other coaches - he’s one of those guys who annoys the hell out of the coaches,” he said with a laugh.
“He’s just constantly asking how he can improve, and constantly putting himself in a position to learn, and he’s just applied himself.
“His football knowledge has improved a lot since he started watching games of footy. He watches a lot of games on the computer, he downloads games and watches certain players, he goes over and watches games at the MCG with staff here, and really tries to get his head around how opposition players play.”
But, AFL game this year or not, O’Reilly is in love with football, and he’s clearly in touch with the ‘team defence’ aspect of the game.
“You get enjoyment out of different things in a lot of different ways - making a really strong tackle and putting them to the ground and getting holding the ball, because it can inspire the team,” he said.
“And coaches like seeing players who work hard defensively, and I get enjoyment out of someone else making a tackle.
“And I enjoy the kicking and handballing aspect of it, whenever you hit a really incisive kick that opens the defence up. Because of my background I’m a run-and-carry player so I enjoy breaking the lines and really taking a burst forward.”
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