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Kerry’s, Mark O’Connor pictured in the 2015 Munster Minor Semi-Final against Cork.
FORMER Kerry minor winner, Mark O’Connor, is heading off to Australia after signing a rookie contract with AFL club Geelong.
The Dingle player impressed in trials earlier this month and three clubs expressed interest in signing him. He will make the move down under in the coming weeks.
The two-time All-Ireland minor medal winner with Kerry revealed his decision on Radio na Gaeltachta’s An Shaol o Dheas programme this morning.
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“I’ve made the decision to go to Geelong. It’s a very quiet place, like Dingle, and I was very comfortable there. I was really taken with Geelong. When I went in there everyone was very friendly, and I felt at home there,” he said.
“I want to go over as soon as possible. The other players won’t be coming until the end of the month, so I’ll have a few weeks on my own to work on my skills. It will be a different challenge. I’ve been playing football since I was 6 or 7. It’s attractive to stay here too (to play football for Kerry), that’s why the decision was so hard. I want a different experience, and maybe a little bit of travelling, I suppose I was looking for something different,” he added.
He said the Kerry management team were very happy for him on a personal level but “as managers and players they weren’t as happy.” O’Connor was brought into the senior set-up earlier this year and was expected to play a big part in Kerry teams of the future.
