Things have changed in more ways than one for St Kilda’s Irish import, Darragh Joyce.

Not only has he moved over 17,000 km from his home in Kilkenny, but he’s also switched to a completely foreign code that demands far more than in his previous life as a hurling star.

Joyce, 19, has been at St Kilda since the start of November where he has hurled himself head first into all the challenges presented by an AFL pre-season.

Crossing from an amateur sport to a professional environment has seen an enormous rise in workload, particularly when it comes to the running component, but it’s something Joyce has relished.

“For me, the biggest challenge has probably been the running because of my game at home – hurling is more skill based so you let the ball do the work – so it’s a big jump in the running,” Joyce told saints.com.au.

“I’d be very fit for my game back home, but this is another four or five steps up and that’s the biggest thing.

“When you do that much running it’s then about getting the skills under control under fatigue, but that’s just something to keep working on.

“It’s become a 24-7 learning life, there are so many coaches around who are available; you should be improving in this environment.”

Shifting from a part-time sport to a full-time program was one of the major attractions for Joyce when deciding whether to uproot his life in Ireland for a move down under.

Earmarked for a role down back, at least to begin with, Joyce says that whilst his workload has dramatically increased, his focus has also switched to recovery, which is a concept that is almost non-existent in Ireland.

“We’d only do half the amount of training [in Ireland] but we’d still have to go to college and work on top of that, so [being in a professional environment] it’s a nice lifestyle,” he said.

“The intensity is something else; I think they did research at home; I’d only do 35 per cent of what I’m doing over here, so it’s a big jump in the workload.

“But you’ve got so many resources, you can go for a massage, physio or jump in an ice bath; recovery is a big thing over here compared to back home where you jump straight back in the car after training and then go to bed.”