RULES MADE TO BE BROKEN

Kennelly's achievements in Australia rank right up there amongst the best by any Irish sporting star

- BY KARL O'KANE

IT'S rarely mentioned in the pantheon of great Irish sporting achievements but what Tadhg Kennelly achieved this week 20 years ago is right up there with the best of them.

On September 15, 2005, Kennelly became the first Irish player to lift an AFL Premiership title.

In terms of the world stage, it’s not Rory McIlroy or Padraig Harrington winning golf Majors, the Irish soccer team making the World Cup quarterfinals or the rugby side winning Grand Slams, but what Kennelly did is more remarkable in some ways.

He changed sports and reached the pinnacle of a new game - and one where he had to move to the other side of the world to make his name.

A talented soccer player, Kennelly went to Blackburn Rovers on a three-year deal when he was 15 but soon returned home.

His pathway was clearly laid out after that and it was the road to Croke Park.

Kennelly’s late father Tim, who passed away three months after Tadhg annexed the AFL Premiership with Sydney Swans, won five All-Irelands and two All Stars.

But after being scouted playing for an Ireland Under-17 compromise rules side against Australia, Kennelly headed off in another direction.

Kennelly accepted the newly-initiated Ron Barassi scholarship and joined Sydney as the ninth selection in the 1999 AFL Rookie Draft.

Swans Player Welfare Manager Phil Mullen has recounted their first meeting at the airport when Kennelly told him: “You know I'm not here for a holiday. I'm serious. I'm going to make it.”