Tadgh Kennelly to retire at end of season

rebel girl 15

Just saw this on rte.ie - only happened this morning

IN 1999 an Irish teenager with an unusual name, a full head of hair and no clue about Australian football arrived in Sydney with an unlikely dream of becoming an AFL player.

On Thursday, Tadhg Kennelly retired - minus the hair, but with an undeniable standing as a pivotal figure in the Sydney Swans' history.

When he first arrived, Kennelly was viewed as a novelty and many considered it an experiment that was destined to fail.

A precociously talented Gaelic footballer, Kennelly had barely touched a Sherrin before landing in Australia, memorably describing it as a 'rabbit' that bounced away whenever he got near it.

But there were some at the club, led by development coach George Stone, who could sense something within the youngster that others couldn't.

There was an inner drive, a rare determination that regardless of the difficulties that lay ahead, he would simply force himself to succeed and accept nothing less.

"He was incredibly driven," coach John Longmire said.

"People saw Tadhg’s outgoing, upbeat personality, but behind that was a steely resolve to be the very best player he could be.

"[I recall a time when] he hadn't had a great game the previous weekend and he was so angry with himself and came in here at 6am, determined to turn it around."

And turn it around he did. What happened since those first few days in Sydney is nothing short of astonishing and more akin to a Hollywood script.

Kennelly would not only conquer the vagaries of the Sherrin, he would become, in fellow club great Michael O'Loughlin's words, the Swans' "best distributor of the footy".

Around the time when Kennelly made his AFL debut in 2001, the Swans were an up-and-coming team building a game plan based on hardness and contested football.

But they lacked a spark. They were missing that bolt of electricity that could turn a game on its head.

That is what Kennelly would become, one of the game's most damaging runners off half-back who could stop an opposition's attacking raid in its tracks and send the ball the other way in the blink of an eye.

It helped the Swans all the way to the 2005 premiership, when he played a key role in the drought-breaking grand final victory over West Coast and danced his now infamous jig on the victory dais.

"He had a phenomenal work rate to improve himself. I reckon that sums him up the best," O'Loughlin said.

"He has an amazing appetite for hard work

"From a kid who came here with no idea how to kick it, to leaving the Swans as probably their best distributor of the footy coming out of the backline and hitting targets.

"As a forward running out and with him coming out to kick the footy, you just knew you were going to get hit on the chest.

"When he first came here I thought, 'Gee, who's this kid? He hasn't got anything that I can really see'. But the kid's heart is massive."

Kennelly had trouble with his knees, requiring surgery at the end of 2010 that forced him to miss the opening four rounds of this season.

He returned to the side and played 15 straight games, but over the latter half of the year he struggled to find his best form.

Kennelly admits that part of the reason for his slump was the fact he was struggling to decide if he wanted to continue in 2012.

But in recent weeks he knew the time had come to retire, making an emotional announcement to his teammates on Thursday morning before fronting the media.

As much as Kennelly endeared himself to the Swans and their fans, he felt just as indebted to the club for the remarkable journey his life became since those early days as a wide-eyed teenager.

"Bit of sadness," he said when asked his emotions on Thursday.

"I've been at the Swans half my life, since I was a 17-year-old.

"The values that the club have instilled in me have been absolutely unbelievable and they've made me as a person and I'll forever be indebted to the Swans.

"I'm a bit of a stubborn person and always trying to fix things myself.

"Throughout my career when my form hasn't been great, I've always tried to fix it myself.

"But I've been under a lot of stress energy-wise and that's not me. I'm normally a very positive person and that's taken its toll on me physically.

"It's definitely affected me on the field. So I'm very happy with the decision."

His work rate was personified one more time shortly after his press conference ended.

The Swans headed over to the SCG for training, where Kennelly began running laps, initially alongside young forward Sam Reid.

After a number of laps around the ground Reid turned to Kennelly and said he was going to pull up. Kennelly nodded and just kept on running, increasing his speed.

"He's obviously a legend and turned himself into a great player," O'Loughlin said.

"I think the word that springs to mind is courageous.

"The decision to leave home from Ireland - we all complain about the decision to move from interstate, but he's moved halfway across the world not knowing exactly how it was all going to pan out.

"Something that's hard to measure, and he has in spades, is a big heart."

Syferus

Kennelly's only barely 30, which frightens me in that the last thing we (all the other counties) need is him adding energy to a Kerry team that has to be ready to begin, at best, a slow decent from the highs of the last decade. A return to Ireland and Kerry is a no-brainer for at least the short term, surely?