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Ciaran kilkenny back for Dubs

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    #122
    Mushy
    Registered Users Posts: 21,261 ✭✭✭✭Mushy


    lala88 wrote: »
    Yet only a few months ago his passion was to play pro sport. Seems to me he had a handy excuse to justify him quieting and yes he quit he didn't ''give it a go'' as people are saying he did, to give it a go he would actually have had to stay more then what 2 months?

    Yes, cos impressionable 18 year olds have dreams you know. He wanted to play professional sport and guess what, he didn't like it. Maybe he underestimated how tough it would be to move to a country tens of thousands of miles away, be alone and to devote his life to one thing. You could criticise him if he was late 20s and made the move, but not at the age he is. He followed his dream, it didn't work out because it is an enormous commitment as I've mentioned above. He is probably gutted it didn't work out. All it is is a young lad learning a massive life lesson for himself. Maybe you will now know pro sport life isn't all its made out to be.


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    #123
    Mullet
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 235 ✭✭Mullet


    lala88 wrote: »
    Yet only a few months ago his passion was to play pro sport. Seems to me he had a handy excuse to justify him quieting and yes he quit he didn't ''give it a go'' as people are saying he did, to give it a go he would actually have had to stay more then what 2 months?


    As has been pointed out by other posters that you have ignored he was in pre season for 2 months does that count for anything. He tried it out and it wasnt or him. He owes nobody an expanation especially not you. Have you ever been away from your family for a period of time and not missed them.

    Your repeating yourself and your getting boring so I shall bid you farewell and you can continue with your trolling.


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    #124
    lala88
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,243 ✭✭✭lala88


    Mullet wrote: »
    As has been pointed out by other posters that he have ignored he was in pre season for 2 months does that count for anything. He tried it out and it wasnt or him. He owes nobody an expanation especially not you. Have you ever been away from your family for a period of time and not missed them.

    Your repeating yourself and your getting boring so I shall bid you farewell and you can continue with your trolling.

    Not really no? He would have been training with Dublin anyway, i was led to believe they train like pros or is that just a lie? To give it a go he would have had to play.

    Anyway i look forward to you and the other Dubs excuses when they fall flat on there arses and are show up as the overrated over hype team ye really are again this year, yer friend Joe and only hand ye so many games


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    #125
    rebel girl 15
    Registered Users, Moderators, Education Moderators, Sports Moderators, Regional South Moderators Posts: 15,247 Mod ✭✭✭✭rebel girl 15


    Lala88 infracted for persistant trolling and baiting of other posters.

    Play civil please, or don't play at all, and keep it on topic


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    #126
    Qwerty Dub
    Registered Users Posts: 612 ✭✭✭Qwerty Dub


    It doesnt matter if he never even seen an oval ball for the 6 weeks he was over there. The fact of the matter is he obviously wasnt happy and when he came back for Xmas he realized that this is where he wants to be. Hes a fan of AFL since he was 14. Yes he aspired to play the sport professionally but the reality of it and being away from home proved somewhat different.

    The lad need make no apologies to anyone for that, especially the powers that be in AFL. He gave them his time and went over. How was he to know how he would feel until he went and tried it?

    Its not like he didnt make any sacrifices to try it either. The lad boarded a plane and left his club mates behind to play a Leinster Final which they won and he wasnt part of.

    He needs to justify himself to nobody but himself. He went to satisfy his curiousity so he wouldnt be questioning himself in years to come about trying pro sport. He did it and he didnt like it. Fair play to him i say. The whole thing was as much about living abroad as it was about AFL. He may well have loved the sport over there but if you're missing home everyday you couldn't enjoy it and sure where is the sense in that?

    Great news for Dublin and Gaa as a whole i think as it shows other young Irish lads that the grass isnt always greener on the other side. Great for his club Castleknock too. A massive plus to them as they are on the rise since '98. Just one league off Senior now. They need him.

    Fair play Ciarán and welcome home.


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    #127
    Tom Joad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,134 ✭✭✭Tom Joad


    Well put Qwerty Dub - I would have thought that all GAA people would be thrilled to have potentially the biggest talent in our game back playing the sport we love. He has the potential to be one of the greats of the game and I'm not a Dub..


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    #128
    JM Skipton
    Registered Users Posts: 3,766 ✭✭✭JM Skipton


    I always believe a good question to pose about any players ability year on year is would they make it onto Kerry's first 15 and with Ciaran Kilkenny the answer would be YES.... comfortably.


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    #129
    popebenny16
    Registered Users Posts: 2,461 ✭✭✭popebenny16


    lala88 wrote: »
    Anyway i look forward to you and the other Dubs excuses when they fall flat on there arses and are show up as the overrated over hype team ye really are again this year, yer friend Joe and only hand ye so many games

    dosnt take long for the mask to slip, does it.


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    #130
    freddiek
    Registered Users Posts: 334 ✭✭freddiek


    this was the first big test of his life and he has flunked it, no question. its always the easy option to quit and come home. He would have been in a lot of dressing-rooms listening to speeches about character and so on. hes not shown much here

    dont your parents always tell u to stick it out and not give up at the first opportunity?

    im sure his parents are happy to have him back but part of them and him will always wonder what if hed given it longer

    and why did he agree to go in the first place? surely hed have spoken to guys that have gone over before to get good advice that would stop him making a rash decision..

    the whole thing doesnt reflect well on him or whoever was advising him and its tough on the AFL club that went out of their way to recruit and im sure did everything they could to make him feel welcome


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    #131
    Ed Winchester
    Registered Users Posts: 1,393 ✭✭✭Ed Winchester


    I've no sympathy for the AFL club whatsoever. Maybe it'll discourage them from poaching our best young stars in future.


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    #132
    Mushy
    Registered Users Posts: 21,261 ✭✭✭✭Mushy


    freddiek wrote: »
    this was the first big test of his life and he has flunked it, no question. its always the easy option to quit and come home. He would have been in a lot of dressing-rooms listening to speeches about character and so on. hes not shown much here

    dont your parents always tell u to stick it out and not give up at the first opportunity?

    im sure his parents are happy to have him back but part of them and him will always wonder what if hed given it longer

    and why did he agree to go in the first place? surely hed have spoken to guys that have gone over before to get good advice that would stop him making a rash decision..

    the whole thing doesnt reflect well on him or whoever was advising him and its tough on the AFL club that went out of their way to recruit and im sure did everything they could to make him feel welcome

    At least you put it a bit more diplomatically.

    But dont forget his age. He was 18 when he made up his mind. Its a life lesson he will have to learn. Cant be too harsh on him for that. We should be happy he is back. To see this level of skill in a person is great, be thankful you will get the chance to see him.

    Im sure he will have some regrets in the future, but lets not be too harsh on him, hes only young.


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    #133
    Big Game
    Registered Users Posts: 232 ✭✭Big Game


    As a Dub I'm delighted to see him back but I really don't think that 5 weeks in the off season was long enough for him to make a call like that. Pre season in AFL only starts after Christmas so the posts saying he's had a 3 month pre season in an Aussie summer before making his decision are ill informed, he obviously would have been doing some work to familiarise himself with a new sport but the real hard work would have only started on his return.

    It's obviously homesickness and returning for Christmas after only a short time away (think he only left in the 3rd week of November) was always going to compound that feeling, I was away over to Oz in the mid 90's and found it very hard to settle initially, 5 weeks is nowehere near long enough to get over homesickness, 5 months would be more like it at the earliest. I think that the fact that Castleknock have a junior All Ireland semi final coming up has probably been a factor as well, he'd have seen people from the club while he was home as well as the lads he's grown up playing with and a lot of the talk would have been about that game which would have been been playing on his mind as well, even if there was no pressure being applied the fact that he would have been listening to all the hype about the biggest game in the clubs short history would have to have had an impact on him. I'm wondering if lala's posts are influenced by the fact that they're playing a Kerry team in that semi, I doubt Kenmare Shamrocks are too happy with his decision.

    Anyway, good luck to him, I only hope that he doesn't regret the decision a few years down the line. And let's not burdern him with unrealistic expectations in blue this year, while he's a hell of a talent the lad is still only 19.....


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    #134
    LeftBlank
    Closed Accounts Posts: 504 ✭✭✭LeftBlank


    freddiek wrote: »
    . its always the easy option to quit and come home.

    So the easy option was to give up on a professional sport where you have the possibility to make hundreds of thousands of dollars to go and play a sport where you play for free and with the economy so messed up, even finding a job is going to be a problem?

    I think coming home was a harder choice than staying.


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    #135
    freddiek
    Registered Users Posts: 334 ✭✭freddiek


    LeftBlank wrote: »
    So the easy option was to give up on a professional sport where you have the possibility to make hundreds of thousands of dollars to go and play a sport where you play for free and with the economy so messed up, even finding a job is going to be a problem?

    I think coming home was a harder choice than staying.


    stars like Kilkenny will always be accommodated and im sure he ll do a few years in college and walk into a nice teachers job. Its not like he had to leave for Australia for economic reasons

    try looking at it from a neutral angle and apply some critique instead of from a dublin gaa perspective


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    #136
    keane2097
    Registered Users Posts: 17,770 ✭✭✭✭keane2097


    Obviously decided Castleknock is nicer than Melbourne which I've no doubt it is!

    The guy went for a look, obviously didn't like what Australian life had to offer and decided to come back to what he knows and loves. I fail to see what has lala88 in such a state of rage and bitterness.

    Very much looking forward to seeing Ciaran in the coming year, some of the "overhyped" posts should probably be bookmarked for future lols.


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    #137
    Tom Joad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,134 ✭✭✭Tom Joad


    Don't want to go OTT here lads but some people need a serious dose of cop-on, the young lad went abroad, didn't like it/it didn't suit it and came home. Anyone saying he didn't try it etc,etc - go read the inquest report about Darren Sutherland and the pressure he was under not to quit boxing.

    I would far rather a young lad to come home and be happy than stay because of what people might think if he quit and become another appalling suicide statistic - Ciaran Kilkenny has gone up a lot in my estimation because of this - people should respect his decision and move on or is it the typical lets have a pop at the Dubs that we usually see surfacing in these parts.


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    #138
    corny
    Registered Users Posts: 7,788 ✭✭✭corny


    freddiek wrote: »
    stars like Kilkenny will always be accommodated and im sure he ll do a few years in college and walk into a nice teachers job. Its not like he had to leave for Australia for economic reasons

    try looking at it from a neutral angle and apply some critique instead of from a dublin gaa perspective

    Ha.... Thats hard to do when you know **** all about the lad.

    Hope he's happy with his decision


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    #139
    Qwerty Dub
    Registered Users Posts: 612 ✭✭✭Qwerty Dub


    freddiek wrote: »
    this was the first big test of his life and he has flunked it, no question. its always the easy option to quit and come home. He would have been in a lot of dressing-rooms listening to speeches about character and so on. hes not shown much here

    dont your parents always tell u to stick it out and not give up at the first opportunity?

    im sure his parents are happy to have him back but part of them and him will always wonder what if hed given it longer

    and why did he agree to go in the first place? surely hed have spoken to guys that have gone over before to get good advice that would stop him making a rash decision..

    the whole thing doesnt reflect well on him or whoever was advising him and its tough on the AFL club that went out of their way to recruit and im sure did everything they could to make him feel welcome

    I disagree. Ciaran Kilkenny has played in Minor & U21 All-Ireland Finals in both codes and stood out for the player he is. He has had many tests and passed them all. The decision in itself to go was fairly testing I am sure and not one he made lightly. The chap boarded a plane and watched updates on Twitter as his friends and team mates played a Leinster Final without him. A Leinster Final he had helped them reach. That can’t have been easy.

    Everyone is making this about the AFL. Who said it has anything to do with AFL at all? He may have loved the training and the game itself and is raging he won’t get to play pro sport, but if it meant being on the other side of the world from his family and friends and stopped him playing the 2 games he loves then maybe he felt the sacrifice wasn’t worth it.

    I don’t think he was training / playing the game long enough over there for it to be the reason he came home. I would say the game itself had nothing to do with it.

    You are saying he should have spoke to someone over there before he made a decision. Who is to say he didn’t? The people he spoke to might have been the reason that he even tried it in the first place, that and curiousity. But whats good for Zack Tuohy or Niall McKeever might not be whats good for Ciaran Kilkenny and realistically that’s all that matters here, to him anyway. And I don’t think Ciaran need make any apologies for that.

    I have absolutely no sympathy for the AFL club either. He tried it out and didn’t like it. Whats the difference between that and them trying him out (on a trial) and not liking him. People and clubs make decisions that suit themselves. If both parties are happy with the outcome then great but life isnt always that simple.

    He tried Oz and didn’t wish to stay there. Simple as that.
    Big Game wrote: »
    As a Dub I'm delighted to see him back but I really don't think that 5 weeks in the off season was long enough for him to make a call like that. Pre season in AFL only starts after Christmas so the posts saying he's had a 3 month pre season in an Aussie summer before making his decision are ill informed, he obviously would have been doing some work to familiarise himself with a new sport but the real hard work would have only started on his return.

    Although it was only for 5 or 6 weeks, if you followed his progress on the Hawthorns website you would have seen the field sessions, gym sessions, swimming sessions, boxing sessions, track sessions and beach sessions they were doing for PRE-SEASON so Im sure he got a taste of what was to come and what was expected. I just don’t think that living abroad was for him. Cant knock the guy for that.

    He always struck me as a homebird and while I didn’t expect him to last more than a year or 2 away from home I didn’t expect him to return so soon either.

    Not directing this at you but some people seem awfully bitter about his decision when it has no impact on your lives at all. Its his life to live as he sees fit and if he comes to regret it down the line he’ll have to live with that too.

    Fair play to him. He is doing what HE wants and he doesn’t need to make any excuse for it.


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    #140
    bruschi
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 4,141 Mod ✭✭✭✭bruschi


    Big Game wrote: »
    As a Dub I'm delighted to see him back but I really don't think that 5 weeks in the off season was long enough for him to make a call like that. Pre season in AFL only starts after Christmas so the posts saying he's had a 3 month pre season in an Aussie summer before making his decision are ill informed, he obviously would have been doing some work to familiarise himself with a new sport but the real hard work would have only started on his return.

    It's obviously homesickness and returning for Christmas after only a short time away (think he only left in the 3rd week of November) was always going to compound that feeling, I was away over to Oz in the mid 90's and found it very hard to settle initially, 5 weeks is nowehere near long enough to get over homesickness, 5 months would be more like it at the earliest. I think that the fact that Castleknock have a junior All Ireland semi final coming up has probably been a factor as well, he'd have seen people from the club while he was home as well as the lads he's grown up playing with and a lot of the talk would have been about that game which would have been been playing on his mind as well, even if there was no pressure being applied the fact that he would have been listening to all the hype about the biggest game in the clubs short history would have to have had an impact on him. I'm wondering if lala's posts are influenced by the fact that they're playing a Kerry team in that semi, I doubt Kenmare Shamrocks are too happy with his decision.

    Anyway, good luck to him, I only hope that he doesn't regret the decision a few years down the line. And let's not burdern him with unrealistic expectations in blue this year, while he's a hell of a talent the lad is still only 19.....


    no it doesnt. Pre season begins in November, and they do their toughest training camps in December. Pre season competitions start post Christmas, but the majority of the indurance physical training is now complete for AFL clubs.


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    #141
    popebenny16
    Registered Users Posts: 2,461 ✭✭✭popebenny16


    freddiek wrote: »
    stars like Kilkenny will always be accommodated

    you remember the three members of the (then) tipperary all ireland hurling team on the Late Late Show mentioning how even they couldnt find a job?

    and, yeah, entry level teaching is such a goldmine these days too, which is not to even mention the fact that you have to resort to such makey uppy nonsence to try and make some sort of a point in the first place.


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    #142
    popebenny16
    Registered Users Posts: 2,461 ✭✭✭popebenny16


    i would have thought that, after everything we have heard about AFL Scouts coming over here and the danger it was for the GAA, a story of a player actually coming back would be welcomed on this board. We are all supposed to be GAA supporters first and foremost.


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    #143
    keane2097
    Registered Users Posts: 17,770 ✭✭✭✭keane2097


    bruschi wrote: »
    no it doesnt. Pre season begins in November, and they do their toughest training camps in December. Pre season competitions start post Christmas, but the majority of the indurance physical training is now complete for AFL clubs.

    This is 100% correct.


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    #144
    Big Game
    Registered Users Posts: 232 ✭✭Big Game


    bruschi wrote: »


    no it doesnt. Pre season begins in November, and they do their toughest training camps in December. Pre season competitions start post Christmas, but the majority of the indurance physical training is now complete for AFL clubs.

    My bad, thought it was just training camps / bonding sessions off site pre Christmas and pre season proper beginning in Jan. Either way he didn't give it a proper pre season if he only stayed from mid November till before Christmas.

    As I said, good luck to him, hope it's the right decision for him and that if he does regret it he gets a second chance like Clarke has.


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    #145
    Qwerty Dub
    Registered Users Posts: 612 ✭✭✭Qwerty Dub


    He aint the first to come back & he won't be the last:

    http://bit.ly/VTOBhm


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    #146
    Mullet
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 235 ✭✭Mullet


    popebenny16 wrote: »
    i would have thought that, after everything we have heard about AFL Scouts coming over here and the danger it was for the GAA, a story of a player actually coming back would be welcomed on this board. We are all supposed to be GAA supporters first and foremost.


    You would have thought so but it's an Irish thing to put down our own. It was a very brave decision by him to make a decision like he did and I applaud him.

    I have no sympathy for the afl. They have been pilfering young talent from this island and I hope it's a start of many a young lad to turn their backs on the afl.


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    #147
    Drummerboy2
    Registered Users Posts: 886 ✭✭✭Drummerboy2


    Amazed some poster feeling sorry for Hawthorn. They come over here and reap the reward of all the hard work GAA coaches around the country put in. As far as I know they contribute absolutely nothing to the GAA but live in the hope of finding the next Jim Stynes. At least the soccer clubs across the water contribute something to the clubs who produce the players.


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    #148
    freddiek
    Registered Users Posts: 334 ✭✭freddiek


    Mullet wrote: »
    You would have thought so but it's an Irish thing to put down our own. It was a very brave decision by him to make a decision like he did and I applaud him.

    I have no sympathy for the afl. They have been pilfering young talent from this island and I hope it's a start of many a young lad to turn their backs on the afl.

    brave?!! he took the easy way out here. brave would have been to stick it out over there for at least a while longer despite the natural inclination to be at home with your friends/family

    you criticize the AFL but they gave the guy an opportunity to earn a living in professional sport, which he won't get with the GAA.


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    #149
    Mullet
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 235 ✭✭Mullet


    freddiek wrote: »
    brave?!! he took the easy way out here. brave would have been to stick it out over there for at least a while longer despite the natural inclination to be at home with your friends/family

    you criticize the AFL but they gave the guy an opportunity to earn a living in professional sport, which he won't get with the GAA.

    Have you ever been thousands of miles away from family and friends in a foreign land at a young age, i doubt its is easy for anyone but he was a young lad who had only done his leaving cert, None of us know what his experiences were. It's very easy to sit at a keyboard and say he made an easy decision because I doubt he took it lightly.

    Even though I'm from Dublin I would be delighted if he was from another county and had made the same decision. I certainly wouldn't be questioning his decision. I was dissappointed when the o'halpin brothers went to Australia as it was more young talent lost.

    Yes I do criticise the afl as they are putting nothing into our sports. Young lads are been coached by our coaches for export. The afl come here hold trials and pilfer raw talent. At least with soccer clubs here they get compensation when they sign professional contracts.


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    #150
    Ando's Saggy Bottom
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,628 ✭✭✭Ando's Saggy Bottom


    Great news for the GAA and everyone in Castleknock. He'll be one of the biggest stars in the sport in two years time. So much talent.

    That statement is magnificent too.


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    #151
    Hammer Archer
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,400 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    Unbelievable seeing the amount of criticism the young lad is getting here.

    The fact is, the guy isn't even out of his teens yet but made a massive decision to up tools, leave his family, friends and team-mates and live in a country thousands of miles away. This wasn't like your typical working holiday that countless Irish young people undertake these days, he made this trip to begin professionally playing a game that he's probably never played competitively before with guys that he's never even met and who have grown up playing the game. He possibly could have stuck it out a bit longer if he really wanted to, but he made his decision to come home and no anonymous internet forum user has any right to criticise him for that.


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