Brisbane taps into pluck of the Irish

BRISBANE has tapped into its Irish connections to recruit another speedster from the Emerald Isles.

James Madden broke the all- time AFL Draft Combine 20m sprint at the European Combine in December, running at 2.69 seconds. He also travelled to Florida to train with the AFL Academy.

The Dubliner was recommended to Brisbane by former Lion Cian Hanley. Hanley had a frustrating run of injury while in Australia and eventually cut short his time at the Lions after the passing of his younger brother, Tommy.

But he remains in contact with the Lions and has acted as an intermediary in the recruitment process by urging Madden to give the AFL a go.

Pearce Hanley was the Lions’ most successful Irishman, appearing in 129 games, while Niall McKeever and Colm Begley also played senior footy for the club.

Madden stars for Dublin in both Gaelic football and hurling but is ready to test the water in AFL in Australia.

“A lot of Irish lads would love to get this opportunity,” he said. “You’ve really got to cherish it. It’s a good challenge obviously; new experience, new country, new city.”

Madden has been at the Gabba touring the facilities and meeting his new teammates this week.

“I knew it had been coming for a while now and it’s great to finally be here,” he said.

Brisbane general manager of football David Noble said the Lions were impressed with Madden’s ball speed, ball control and decision making.

“In list management it is important to explore all sport talent options,” he said. “We’re excited to secure his services for the next couple of years.”

Noble believes Madden will have no troubles learning the intricacies of his new game.

“The work that our team have been doing with our first and second- year development players has been second to none. The results have shown for themselves and are really quite impressive.”

Madden will be in Brisbane for two weeks, then fly home. He will return in November for the 2019 pre- season.