Destiny is Colling for Irish pair
CORKMAN Mark Keane and Derry’s Anton Tohill are looking to hit the ground running as they embark on their Australian adventure.
The duo, signed by Collingwood as rookies at the recent AFL Draft Combine, arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday night and took part in a skills session the following morning.
The first-to-fourth year players aren’t due in for pre-season training until November 19 but Keane and Tohill wanted to get a head start according to Collingwood’s head of academy, Tarkyn Lockyer.
“Their kicking, their handball and marking looks pretty sound at the moment, although just getting used to our ball is a challenge for them,” said Lockyer.
Tohill – a son of Derry great Anthony, who spent time Down Under with Melbourne Demons but never played a senior game – stands 6’5’’, while Keane is just an inch smaller.
The pair’s kicking and athleticism really caught the eye of the Collingwood scouts and are being earmarked as key position players, rather than the customary counterattacking half-back role in which most GAA recruits find themselves deployed.
Lockyer added: “We won’t do a huge amount of the game education stuff in the next couple of days, but certainly in the next week we’ll sit them down and let them watch some games.
“Then we’ll let them come up with any questions they might have and we’ve also got to bed down where we see them playing, whether it’s forward, back or midfield.”