She may only be playing the sport for a short while, but Sinead O’Mahony is making some serious waves in Aussie Rules.
The former Dublin ladies footballer impressed on the AFL’s female talent combine held in Whitten Oval in Melbourne earlier this year.
The 26-year-old teacher was subsequently selected for the AFL Victorian women’s academy and invited to join the Women’s VFL side Melbourne University and coach Andrew Jago raved about the Dubliner to 9news.
“The most lovable thing about Sinead is that she’s coachable, from the point of view she just wants to get better.”
“She loves applying defensive pressure, so anyone who’s got the ball, she hunts.”
Jago believes that O’Mahony has a good chance of getting drafted into the AFL in October if she continues to improve.
“She’s definitely got draftable qualities. There’s some things she’s got to improve on, but given the rate of improvement she’s shown this year, don’t rule her out.”
Her teammate Ellie Blackburn also believes she can follow in the footsteps of Irish footballers such as Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly and excel in the sport.
“We sneak her up forward and she’s got a nice little side-step on her which confuses opponents.”
“If she could continue that Irish legacy amongst the AFL, and there are some great players that are still in the AFL from Ireland. She’ll be another one, I’m sure of that.”
On the latest episode of the GAA Hour Hurling Show Wooly and the lads reflect on a monumental weekend of action. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.
