FLAG DREAM
Irish defender ready to go the distance in premiership quest, writes Josh Barnes
MARK O’Connor’s “long-term vision” for his future at Geelong is all about one thing – premierships.
This is why he packed up his life six years ago to play a sport he had barely seen.
It is why he left Ireland to train through the most recent Christmas period and get into the best shape of his life before this season.
And this is why he will not be moving home anytime soon, as his commitment to the cause at Geelong is set to be locked in for the next few years.
When he was contemplating a move from County Kerry as a teen, O’Connor was told to target three successful clubs because they would always be contending for flags.
While none of the trio suggested to him have tasted success since he arrived in Australia at the end of 2016, the defender is adamant flags are not far away for his Cats.
O’Connor arrived in the same draft class as Brandan Parfitt, Tom Stewart, Esava Ratugolea, Quinton Narkle, Jack Henry, Zach Guthrie and Sam Simpson, while Zach Tuohy was traded in that off-season, and has formed a strong bond with his cohort.
“In my time here we haven’t won a premiership and that is disappointing,” he said.
“When I did come out here I was really keen to go to a club that was contending and I remember speaking to people who said if you get a chance, go to Sydney, Hawthorn or Geelong. Those are probably the teams that have been doing that (contending) for a long period.
“When the offer did come up to go to Geelong, I was kind of really keen to take that and (a premiership) has always been the goal.
“For those players I was drafted with, it would be very satisfying to win a flag with those boys especially, so that would be the long-term goal for me and the club especially.”
After toying with the prospect of ending his AFL career when his contract expires at the end of this year, O’Connor was sold on the future at the Cats.
“I have become more settled in the last couple of years and I have really bought into the long-term vision of the club and that always made me feel more settled in Geelong,” he said.
After getting himself in top shape over his long pre-season, O’Connor’s knee “flared up” on one of the final training sessions before pre-season games started.
He said it took some time to find his feet after missing the first three rounds of the season, but the hardrunner has since settled in to a careeryear.
Cats coach Chris Scott mooted that O’Connor could play as a regular midfielder this year after spending some time there as a tagger last season.
Eventually the 25-year-old would like to earn midfield minutes and he is working constantly on the attacking side of his game.
“Down the line I would love to grow my game enough to become a genuine mid,” he said.
“My defence is probably the strongest part to my game and I just have to build my attack before that happens.
“At the minute, I am pretty happy down back or wherever really. I kind of like having that flexibility, it can be challenging if you get in a rhythm and get asked to move somewhere else, but I think having that flexibility is something I am keen to keep improving on.”
In those early games last year as he tagged Brownlow medallists Lachie Neale and Tom Mitchell, O’Connor was so raw in the midfield he stuck to his opponent like velcro.
Now, he is slowly learning to unpeel himself and back his growing midfield instincts.
“I do like to get on a body because I feel like that puts the game in my favour a bit more but from there I am backing myself to read the play,” he said. “When I first started tagging, I was playing as a backman in the midfield and was going just fully body-on to the best players. As I am trying to grow my game, I am trying to add the attack in.”