Australia may be a long way from his native Ireland, but Liam O’Connell is ready to make St Kilda his new home after officially joining the club as a Category B Rookie in November.
The Gaelic football star from County Cork and Ballincollig was initially scouted out by the club’s former High Performance Manager and fellow Irishman Nick Walsh, with a subsequent trip from the Saints’ list team in Stephen Silvagni and Graeme Allan to the Emerald Isle getting a true reading on the youngster’s potential.
Highly athletic and equipped with a sound skillset which should translate well into Aussie Rules, O’Connell is set to begin his career at St Kilda in defence, learning the ropes under backline coach Corey Enright and development coaches Damian Carroll, Jake Batchelor and Lenny Hayes.
O’Connell isn’t a total stranger to AFL, having grown up in Western Australia for several years as a child - his mother’s home country - before returning to Ireland when he was 11 years of age.
