McGrath calls for action to stop exodus

GAELIC GAMES PLAYER DRAIN TO AUSTRALIA:FORMER INTERNATIONAL Rules and All-Ireland-winning Down manager Pete McGrath has called on the GAA hierarchy to introduce financial incentives to combat the increasing recruitment of Irish players by professional Australian Football League (AFL) clubs.

McGrath is only too aware of the loss of Gaelic football’s finest talent having been the manager of An Riocht GAA club when Marty Clarke signed for Collingwood in 2006 just months after helping Down to the minor All-Ireland.

The comments come after AFL scouts attended last week’s All-Ireland under-21 semi-finals, when McGrath guided Down to next Monday’s All-Ireland final. Their opponents Cork are also feeling what is currently the biggest threat to Gaelic football as their under-21 dual star Ciarán Sheehan will attend trials in Australia next July.

“Paraic Lodge told me that there was some kind of Australian representation at that semi-final against Mayo,” said McGrath. “You can’t stop them at the gate and bar their entry. I think it’s up to the GAA to look seriously at this issue and to say is there anything that we can do here to prevent players at that age group from being enticed to Australia. That may mean setting up some kind of bursaries, some kind of scholarships, without breaking the amateur ethos, but to provide some help, some kind of mechanism to make it very attractive to these players to stay here and play Gaelic football and not be tempted to go to Australia.

“It’s a big issue and I haven’t the answer for you but I think if you were thinking along those lines surely some mechanism could be put in place, some kind of system to ensure these players aren’t lost to the game. It could be a very serious problem and it is a very serious problem.”

McGrath took charge of the Irish International Rules panel in 2004, previously securing his reputation in the GAA history books after managing Down to All-Ireland titles in 1991 and 1994.

To date, Croke Park opinion on the loss of players to Australia has been muted but GAA president Christy Cooney is expected to be queried on the issue at this afternoon’s National Hurling League media conference.

“I think they should see it as a matter of urgency to set up some kind of a task force to say what can we do without compromising the amateur code,” added McGrath.

“What can we do here to ensure or to make it very difficult or less likely for our young players to be leaving for Australia. It’s a big issue but they should sit down and at least investigate it and leave no stone unturned to see what can be done pragmatically to arrest this problem. I think it is a problem and it has to be addressed, it just can’t be brushed under the bed as if it didn’t exist. It does exist and it has to be dealt with.”

The arrival of controversial Australian sports agent Ricky Nixon, among others, to Ireland and trials on non-GAA pitches cannot be combated directly but McGrath feels a scholarship scheme would help stem the flow of players to the AFL.

“It’s like Manchester United or Liverpool sending scouts over to look at young soccer players. That’s the way of the world, you can’t stop them, it’s a free society but it just annoys people and it annoys some people more than others. The fact that our association isn’t prepared to investigate what they can do to stop the problem I think that’s what’s most annoying.”

McGrath did, however, accept the difficulty in keeping talented players at home in the current economic climate.

“Gaelic football has opened a lot of doors for a lot of people in terms of their careers and in many different ways and there’s not a thing wrong with that. I suppose given the economic downturn in this country and a young fella of 19 or 20 has no prospect of work and is given the opportunity to go to Australia for a couple of years, you can’t blame him for chancing his arm.”

Cork under-21 manager John Cleary sees Sheehan’s potential departure as a serious loss to Cork GAA but the return of Michael Shields after a period training with the Carlton Blues shows the immediate benefit of the experience.

“Michael Shields was away for a year or whatever and he looks to be stronger and better and more hungry and he got it out of his system. Cork GAA would hate to lose Ciarán but if he decides for his own future career to have a go at it I’d say best of luck to him.

“I think the big thing for a lot of these young guys, from talking to them, is that they’d all love to have a professional career. I know from older guys they are trying to juggle a job or study. They are under pressure all the time. They would love to concentrate on their sport fully rather than worry about a boss in work, study or whatever.”