TRIBE STAR RULES
EX-AFL recruit Cillian catches eye of boss in Championship
BY JOHN FALLON
GALWAY supporters had plenty to cheer about in their landslide Connacht semi-final win over Leitrim on Sunday but there was one player who really caught the eye.
Midfielder Cillian Mcdaid put in the sort of performance which made him a target for Australian Rules clubs a few years ago.
But the injuries which blighted his move to Carlton in Australia continued on his return home after less than a year.
However, the 24-year old has battled on and was outstanding on Sunday. Boss Padraic Joyce (inset) knows the value of a player who is comfortable at half-back, midfield or half-forward and he crowned a sublime display on Sunday with three points from distance in the opening half.
“In fairness to Cillian, he’s trained really hard and had a big impact in Castlebar,” said Joyce.
“He took his chance, he kicked three wonderful scores in the first half. We knew Leitrim would sit back and we needed long kickers to kick the ball. Really, really pleased with him.
“He played really well, but in fairness to him he has worked hard himself and got himself in good shape so delighted for him.”
Mcdaid admits it has not be easy adjusting to Gaelic football but he’s now into his third season back home and is hopeful he has put his injury issues behind him.
“It’s tough yeah, it is a big transition, your whole life, you’re away training for a new sport and you’re not watching football and the trends and how it’s changed over the last few years. Then you throw a few injuries into the mix and it is hard to transition back.
“But the most important thing is being on the pitch and training and I missed a good bit of that. The level is high here in Ireland and the skills are as good though they are a different type of skill.
“It’s not easy to just slot back straight into a senior county team. You need time with your club, your college or school.
“But time away and injury has made that transition back a bit more difficult but I’m glad to be back on the pitch and not picking up as many injuries.
“I had a couple of injuries over there – I had a broken foot that I came back and broke again when I came back to Ireland so I missed an awful lot of football in an 18month period but they have all cleared up now and back into the swing of it.”
He won an All-ireland minor hurling medal with Galway in 2015 — he plays hurling with Craughwell and football with Monivea/abbey — and made his SFC debut two years later when he was drafted in by manager Kevin Walsh.
He’s looking forward to the Connacht final against Roscommon after not starting previous games.
“It was probably my first start since we were down in Derry a number of weeks ago so great to get back in. I trained for the last couple of weeks and got selected and there’s a fresh slate again for next week.
“We have three big weeks until Roscommon.”