Eamonn Murray doesn’t see the good in AFLW, as a spectacle and as a sport.
The Meath ladies football manager think it’s “dreadful stuff to watch,” and says there’s “no skill at all” in the game.
A host of Irish ladies footballers have headed Down Under in recent times to pursue a career in the Australian League, with Tipperary’s Orla O’Dwyer winning an All-Star over the weekend. But, having confirmed that one of his key players in Vikki Wall will be heading for Australia next year, Murray reckons it’s all a bit over-hyped.
It was at a launch for the League final between Meath and Donegal, throwing in at 4.00 this Sunday, when the Cavan native let reporters in on his low opinion of the sport.
“That is going to happen, yeah. I’d say we’re losing Vikki now in September and I don’t know how many more we’ll lose,” he began.
“I don’t know why you’d want to play that sport because it’s dreadful stuff to watch. I can’t understand it. There’s no skill at all.”
Many of those that have played the sport have spoken glowingly about its benefits but, citing Dublin pair Sinead Goldrick and Lauren Magee, Murray countered that they “didn’t exactly set the world on fire when they came back.”
“It’s not good, far from it, and I think if any of you check, the players coming back, the Sinead Goldricks or the Lauren Magees or any of them, they don’t exactly set the world on fire when they come back over here,” he said.
“They’re not going to win the championship for any team. They keep saying, ‘Oh we’re going out here and it’s professional and we’re training seven days a week’. How much training do you want like, you know?”
So far, Murray has lost no Meath players to the AFLW and added that he doesn’t “begrudge” Vikki Wall making the move.
