Australia, meet Conor Glass.
It might come as a surprise to some to see a 19-year-old Irish kid make his AFL debut already but not to those versed in Derry GAA.
Anyone who’s even so much as had half an ear in on county matters over the last few years would’ve heard the name of Conor Glass being roared and screamed from every corner on the north coast because it was too important and too damn exciting to be whispered.
We’re not talking about a big man here who could just overrun everyone in his age group. We’re talking about a highly-skilled, cold-blooded warrior who has done it for club, county and school already as a teenager.
This is a guy who played wing back as a fourth year for St. Pat’s Maghera – four years before his age group. They went on and won the Hogan Cup that season and his two goals – two screamers from defence – in the semi-final in Fermanagh sent them on their way.
Conor fucking Glass!!
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) March 30, 2013
This is a boy who won Ulster club minor titles with Glen – the first of which he was named man of the match for in the final on New Year’s Day when he was only an under-15 player.
He’d be starting midfield for Derry now if he hadn’t relocated to Australia last summer but here he is, barely 12 months out of school in a new country playing a new sport and he’s playing at the highest level and winning.
His new club Hawthorn buried Fremantle on Saturday by over double scores, 100 to 48, to climb up to 12th in the AFL ladder and Glass, who played half back, notched up some impressive stats on his debut:
- 10 kicks
- 5 hand passes
- 5 marks
- 2 tackles
Afterwards, the official AFL website listed the Derry native as one of five talking points from the Hawks’ frightening victory.
“It was hard to miss the Hawks’ redhead debutant from County Derry in Ireland,” the report reads.
“Even Conor Glass’ fluorescent beard lit up Domain Stadium when he skipped on to an AFL field for the first time seven minutes into the first term (when Luke Hodge had to depart via the blood rule). Dead set, you just about needed sunglasses.
“Glass didn’t take long to get amongst the action and had five touches by quarter-time. He’s got plenty of speed and looked composed across half-back. He did plenty of good things in a very promising debut.”
And it wasn’t just his hair that Australian pundits were raving about – although it did take up a lot of the conversation. Glass’ highlights looked remarkably solid too.
He’s even curling the oval ball like it was an O’Neill’s size five on a windy pitch in Maghera.
Irishman Conor Glass made hs debut at the weekend and @andrew12welsh says he's "really, really white and really, really red haired" 😂 pic.twitter.com/NS0P3dR5ad
— AFL Game Day (@7aflgameday) July 23, 2017
After the game, he came in for very special praise from Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson but he looked to take it all in his stride as he sat back and listened and didn’t allow himself to get carried away with one good game.
Clarko sends a big congratulations to our first Irish debutant. 🍀🏉
We know @Conor_Glass is excited on the inside. 😂#StrongAsOne pic.twitter.com/er0JymkTWk
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) July 22, 2017
In his own words, there’s more to come.
He’s not living on the other side of the world for a holiday. He’s not the sort of person who rests on his laurels when he gets picked to play.
He’s a winner – a born winner. He’s been doing that all his life because that’s all he knows.
You’re only kidding yourself if you think this is the best it will get for Conor Glass.
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