THE TYRONE panel had a good laugh the other night when Seán Cavanagh - many people's footballer of the year in waiting - and Mickey Harte arrived in the same room. Harte has long been opposed to the International Rules series, yet his star turn has just been named Ireland captain for the two Tests against Australia, on October 24th and 31st.

"A couple of the boys were egging him on to shake my hand," said Cavanagh, who was in Dublin yesterday to collect the Gaelic Players Association September player of the month award. "He politely declined to shake my hand. Mickey is no fan of the competition but he is not going to hold back any players from it. He just said to me to come back healthy for 2009."

This led neatly into the other main talking point in Tyrone GAA at present; the future of minor star Kyle Coney. The Ardboe teenager, man of the match in last Saturday's All-Ireland minor replay victory over Mayo, was due to take up a two-year rookie contract with the Sydney Swans in November but Cavanagh admits to having a slight hand in, at the very least, stalling Coney's departure date.

"I actually was speaking to Kyle in the players' lounge after the All-Ireland final. He is a good guy, a level-headed fella. He has probably been lured in that he isn't going into a big career. He is going to have to go and get a trade. He is only 18 now. The lure of the money and lifestyle in Australia sounded good at the time but now with Tyrone going so well, the seniors and minors, he has had a slight rethink.

"He asked me why I turned it down (a chance to join the Brisbane Lions) and I just told him straight up I didn't think I was going to play a better game than what we have here. I've always said I love this game. I wasn't willing to give up two years of my life to go out and maybe play something I'm not going to enjoy doing. Maybe come back a worse footballer for it.

"I was actually speaking to his Mom and Dad at the Tyrone banquet and they were eager to try and get me to talk him out of it, to be honest. You never know, hopefully he will make the right decision but at the end of the day it's a personal decision and everyone will decide differently.

"For Tyrone's sake I'd like to see him stay but you are not going to hold it against him if he decides otherwise."

Cavanagh is joined in the Irish training squad by fellow Tyrone players Conor Gormley, Enda McGinley and the McMahon brothers, Joe and Justin, giving a picture of the increased physicality manager Seán Boylan will take Down Under.

Rule changes will certainly benefit Ireland, the new hand-passing limit in particular, but it is the tackle area that could prove their undoing once more. Hence, the recruitment of Trevor Brennan for a crash course in smashing into the bigger Australian specimens.

"Trevor was there for a couple of weeks. I wasn't part of it as I was with Tyrone. I know Trevor and back in 2006 he was brought in. We were actually over in Toulouse with him as well. Trevor is a good guy. The tackle is a massive thing. We've probably lost (because of it) in recent years. If we can get used to riding the tackle and putting in tackles ourselves, we won't be too far away.

"From the game we had last Friday night there weren't too many under six foot playing. All in all, they are equally good footballers. That is probably the emphasis Seán has put on it this year. Hopefully, it will stand us in good stead and we'll be able to put in the tackles and put in the challenges where maybe we failed to do in previous years."