Good luck to him...gutted to be losing such a talent but I'm sure it was hard to turn down. Full support now for the lads with the mayo jersey and hopefully a successful season.

It’s a pity we couldn’t keep a talent like that in the county, but it’s understandable — turning down the chance to play professional sport is never easy.

At least now we can draw a line under it and focus on planning without him, rather than constantly wondering whether he’ll play or not. It’s time to get behind the players who will be wearing the green and red in 2026 and beyond. These are the lads who’ll be creating memories for Mayo over the next 10–15 years not those heading off to Australia or pursuing other sports.

Best of luck to Kobe in Australia I’ve no doubt he’ll go on to have great success and enjoy a brilliant career in the AFL.

Best of luck to him. Great opportunity but a sad day for Mayo football

The worry now is that there are at least a couple more prospects from our promising 20's group that could also be well suited to that oval ball game. Just hopefully it's not something that appeals to them as l think they will be our two top midfield men in the few coming years.

Say nothin,the fekkin scouts could have us infiltrated here!

Absolute disaster for us and an absolute kick in the teeth for Andy Moran. Unfortunately, this was long in the pipeline, as shown by his lack of participation with the Mayo U20s this season.

When you open Instagram and it seems every 25 year old in the country is over in Australia, considering the state this country is in, can you really blame a lad for going out to where everyone will end up going and getting paid to play sport on top?

@retro, this country's not "in a state", it has problems but it's absolutely booming. Young people have easy visa access to a country where they don't have a language barrier, where the weather is amazing, and they have cities five times the size of Dublin. Kobe is partly leaving because he's a gifted athlete that the AFL want and partly because he wants it. I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision and he'll have regrets about not trying to end the famine with his home county but good luck to him.

@Retrocut

Well said best of luck to Kobe on your adventures . It's just a sad day for Mayo . He could well be back only a young lad but wish him the best .

Ah lads, its depressing. I don't know how you can all be so stoic about it.

Good Luck to him, far away pastures are not always greener. As for the football still with the players who want to play for Mayo.

Back in 2018 a 17 year old left theese shores for Australia.He was without doubt one of the most talented under age players I have ever seen .He returned after a year because he didn’t like the game that couldn’t allow him express the huge range of skills he had .unfortunately that story had a very tragic ending and his parents were recently on tv talking about the huge challenges of mental health.I honestly think it absolutely appalling the level of dissection being done on kobe McDonald’s decision on this blog .Neither he or his father owe anything to mayo football and I am sure ciaran McDonald knows more about what’s best for his son than any of us do .No one knows if players read these sort of blogs or general online rubbish but maybe think long and hard before posting absolute nonsense about the possible consequences they could cause

Retrocut
What state is the Country in??......honestly where are you going that's better.I lived in 5 countries between 1989 and 2001 and am constantly traveling since.Ireland is a great place to live loads of early 20 year old go to Australia and say they're never coming home.....then one day when your between 27 & 30 you realise that where ever you are is not home and you are a long way from family and that's what really matters...plus all the shite you don't like here is over there as well.
Ireland has come on leaps and bounds since the 80's when I grew up.
Anyway...back to the football

Kobe obviously wants to take his skill to another level and who can blame him, making a working career from his hobby. He has a fair bit of physical development to do before he puts on a St Kilda jersey, a couple of years work imo.
The unfortunate thing is that we have a healthy talented group in Kobe's age bracket. And losing the standard bearer is a blow. What would kerry be without clifford, Dublin without con o callaghan?
Much will depend on how successful Kobe is down under as to whether this becomes a trend. Oìsín had to dig deep to make it work and so will Kobe

His choice of club is interesting. St kilda are one of the weakest and smallest clubs in the AFL. Unlike Geelong they have commonly had a lot of damaging off field turmoil to deal with too over the years, which has had a destabilising effect on their on-field performances. His development will be interesting to watch, there’s a big difference between the environment in various AFL clubs. Best of luck to him anyway.

There’s been plenty of chat about this, and rightly so. When you have a once-in-a-generation talent, it’s only natural for Mayo people and GAA fans everywhere to feel gutted seeing him go.

A few things can be true at the same time though:

1. Nobody begrudges the young lad.
It’s a massive opportunity. He owes nothing to anyone except himself and his family, and he’s absolutely right to explore it. At the same time, as supporters we’re entitled to feel sickened and disappointed. Those two feelings can — and do — coexist.

2. It’s a wake-up call for the GAA.
We treat these players like professionals in practice — the time, the work, the scrutiny, the abuse — but we don’t give them the support, security or structure of professionals. You can’t expect lads to sacrifice their 20s for glory and pride when they also have to think about careers, mortgages and life in one of the most expensive countries going.

If we want our best young footballers staying here, then we need to incentivise them to stay here. That means semi-pro structures at a minimum, proper pathways in education and career, and high-level facilities and sports science. The days of “ah sure, play for the parish” on a packet of Jaffa Cakes are gone.

3. We need to protect the future of the game here.
There are now 15-plus top Irish lads abroad and counting — not to mention the women’s players going too. Unless the GAA modernises, we’re effectively accepting our role as a feeder farm for a foreign sport on the far side of the world. And if that’s the choice, fine — but let’s at least be honest about it instead of acting shocked every time another one goes.

Nobody is angry at the lad, and if you are you need your head examined. He’s earned the right to chase the world. But if we care about Mayo football and Gaelic football as a whole, we need to start asking harder questions of the structures, not the players.

We want our young stars dreaming of Croke Park in the summer — not Melbourne in March.

Absolutely gutted when I read the news yesterday. Obviously its an offer a young lad like him couldn't refuse. It would have been something else seeing him play in the green & red but there's nothing we can do about it now only to wish him all the best on his new adventure. Mayo's loss is St. Kildas gain.

From the outside looking in at all that has been said on this blog about the young lads move to AFL, it seems to me its you, Willie Joe, thats driving this story. Two posts in 72 hours. Leave the young lad alone to get on with his LC and his life and stop seeking comment from every Tom, Dick and Harriet on the matter.

Fourpointgoal - seriously, you have to be joking. This story is all over the national media and I didn't post anything on it until it surfaced first at national level. If you'd been paying attention at all to what I've said and done on the blog in recent months you'd know that I've been at pains to point out that a 17 year-old is at the centre of all this and anyone commenting on this should bear that fact in mind. That's as far as "seeking comment from every Tom, Dick and Harriet" as you could find but, hey, don't let the facts get in the way of what your claiming.

Firstly wj I'm sorry but I lost login details to post here. Tbh I use through away email account so no idea what my previous name was

If I'm allowed to post this is my thoughts on the whole kobe/AFL thing

Firstly- fair play to him. He is a generation talent. He deserves to earn money for his talent. Despite all the comments saying make gaa professional it is not possible. We give out paying€20/30 into a regular league game or early championship. If we go pro double or treble that. It's not going to happen

All the giving out about. I look at it as a privilege. Kilmaine was alive a few weeks ago because oisin was playing in final. What a occasion for them. Absolutely I know it's not an all Ireland but to have your own club mate play on a huge occasion is an honour

We give out about agents or afl reps. Ya I don't like them but within my club we have a rugby coach and a soccer coach. They get our players playing with there teams also. I'm not enthusiastic about it but I accept it. As long as kids are playing sport I'm ok with it but would prefer if it was football. I see a person who is pro of a rugby club giving out about recent developments and I just laugh. Do we have a problem with an sports or just Australia sports. Should bAllina stephinatires get compensated for Gavin Duffy and Dave heffernan. Did John mounttey play with BMS. Should they get compensated. What about the soccer player o Malley in Westport. He played for both the gaa team sand the soccer team. Gave up professional soccer. Came home and played gaa outfield for Westport. In this case about 5 teams need to be compensated😂

My thoughts on this are fair play to Kobe. He is doing what he thinks is right for himself and if he changes his mind in a few years or is not good enough we should take him back with open arms

I can't find from your details what handle you posted with previously (there's no requirement at the present time to log in to do so) but you'll need to find a different handle now as the 'Two Pointer' one is already being used by someone else. I've altered your for now to 'Second Two Pointer' but if you can think of a better one then fire ahead.

Just to be clear — nobody is suggesting we try to go full-blown professional like the Premier League or NFL. But there are semi-pro and player-support models worth exploring, and dismissing them out of hand is how we sleepwalk into becoming a feeder code.

We're in an era where we expect elite-level standards from players — year-round conditioning, analysis, scrutiny, time, travel — but the structures around them are still operating like it's 1985. The game has moved on. The world has moved on. Other sports are upping their game and backing their athletes properly. If we don't evolve, we'll keep losing our best. Simple as.

The GAA has huge resources and carries massive cultural weight. It could be doing far more to promote the sport, support player welfare, strengthen coaching pathways, and modernise development structures. Instead, we shrug and say “sure nothing can be done.” That's how you fall behind.

If we’re serious about keeping elite talent, then let's stop acting helpless and start asking the hard questions. This isn’t about blaming the player — fair play to him, he's earned his shot — it’s about whether we truly value our top lads enough to create an environment where staying is as attractive as leaving.

Because right now, the answer to that question is obvious, its far more attractive for these lads to leave.

Willie Joe - seriously, lm not joking!. 2 Blog posts in 72 hours is not, as you say, "not seeking comment". In fact it just promotes more comment. Just because its" all over the national media" doesnt mean it should be a free for all to give their tuppence worth. Again l plead, leave the lad alone and just let him get on with his studies and preparation for a life changing move to the AFL.

Players are not ignored in terms of support structure. It's factually incorrect to post like its 1989 and players are not getting :
-medical support
- physio
-SnC support
-mileage and expenses
-gear
- meals after training and games
- 3rd level scholarships
- The government funded per player grant
- a huge boost in the job market
I really can't bear another GPA poor mouth report for that matter.
GPA how many players are wealthy both current and former?
It's vastly above similar circumstance peers.
How many players are upper middle class to well off?
You will never find out as a statistic that could easily be calculated if they wanted to

Love the messages on here about how gutted you all are that he has left .
I live in England but have had the pleasure of watching this guy play live 7 times.
I made the effort to go watch him because knew it was a privilege to watch this talent.
I didn’t see too many people who actually live in the county make the effort though and that was on your back door but now everyone is claiming to be devastated he is gone .
Should realise what you have when it’s there , rather than play devastated card when couldn’t be bothered to go watch him .
Not only is he a great talent but a great lad too .
He took the time to chat with my son after the Ballina game this summer and was a humble as could be in spite of his awesome talent. Just like his dad .
Good luck to him

I wish every success to Kobe and his family on their move to Australia. No doubt he has a bright future ahead of him, no matter what career path he takes. We all have a responsibility to do right by ourselves, at any age.

Some of the commentary from posters here over the past couple of days has been outlandish, even downright bizarre, bordering on anger. Mayo GAA should supposedly be bribing him to stay and play for Mayo. What message would that send to the rest of the panel who have committed their lives to playing for their county? AFL should be paying money to the clubs, as if some kind of transfer market should operate for what is nominally an amateur pastime. Get real.

Kobe's decisions are for him alone and are no-one else's business. He owes nothing to Mayo GAA, nor is he under any obligation to any of the organisations he gave his time to. Just leave the lad in peace and let him get on with it. He's still only a child.

Valid points on the competition for our best talents, while I do not begrudge any young player going over, I do have an issue with those within the association actively encouraging young players going over, and in particular if these are being compensated for this "talent spotting". However, there are plenty of opportunities for young players nowadays and has been pointed out, we have lost players to other sports. At a club level, there is probably no club which has not had players going travelling and missing a year or two ( or more). This is life, we as Mayo supporters are thinking of what might be but there is no guarantees as to how this might turn out if we had decided to stay. Best of luck to him, and if he returns in a few years then I would welcome him back with open arms.

I’m sickened.

I’ve held off rushing to post, because Willie Joe would probably give me a red card.

I resent everything about all this and the Aussies are worse than blood suckers.

You may not be joking, Fourpointgoal, but what’s you’re alleging is a rather monstrous misrepresentation. If you’d bothered to follow what’s been posted here on the blog on this topic over the last number of months then you’d know that I’ve been a strong voice advocating the very point that he should be left alone and I’ve moderated the debate pretty strictly along those lines.

As I’ve already said, don’t let facts get in your way but two comments full of untruths about me is more than enough. That’s your lot for now.

@Solo and go

Now to be fair thats a a bit unfair . Fair play you made the effort to come over from England . But alot of us have commitments outside of gaa . Also who is to say we on here did not go see him? I know plenty on here that support not just Cross did go to see him play .

Of course Mayo people can be sad he is going weather or not they went to see him play. He is a generational talent .

Anyway it's his choice at the end of the day all we can do now is wish him all the best and say good luck to the young lad because it must not have been an easy decision for a 17 year old.

Hilarious post @Solo and go 😂....
You just didn't recognize us all because we were using our real names on those days.

Clare - you are correct. It’s his choice and cannot blame him for going and admire his courage for going.
And yes, he is a generational talent. Hence my comment on why so few went to see him play.
Maybe you did.
But I saw him play for crossmolina under 16, minor and senior.
Saw him play for a mayo u15 team, mayo minor and there wasn’t many outside of family who bothered.
I saw him at Mchale park end of august win minor final v Westport, again hardly soul there .
People living in England have commitments too but when you know there’s something special to see you make the time and enjoy before it’s too late and then bemoan what’s happened when not bothering to appreciate whats right on front of you.
It was the same from mayo fans with his dad
I was there when he was abused by mayo fans and left the panel even though he was most talented man to play the game.
Then years later mayo fans romanticise about him despite not showing the deserved respect in the moment

I think its a mistake for any youg lad of 17 or 18 to join the AFL enviroment. Its a very physical and mental challenge for anyone especially at that age. I know young lads go to Engish soccer clubs but this is different. Melbourne is the other side of the world and a whole different culture. If he was to go could he not have waited a few more years and played under 20 with his county. If he is that good the offers would still be there.

@Solo and go

Your obviously a dedicated Cross fan fair play I respect that .

But I still stand by it that just cause you didn't go see Kobe playing at underage doesn't mean you can't be sad he is going .

Ciaran MC did get alot of abuse it's true. Though the Aussie fans can be just as ruthless you just have to look at their treatment of Mullin to see that .

Will he be able or allowed to line out with the county U20s this spring? That competition is finished before the leaving cert.

MO2023, he'd be eligible alright. Although he may prefer focus on his studies which would be perfectly understandable. Eamonn Armstrong played U20 while contract agreed with his AFL club.

Also from a Mayo player development viewpoint what would be the point playing him in that competition at the expense of developing another player who may be a future Mayo senior star.

Reading between the lines of John Maughans quotes in the examiner, if I was a betting man I'd say he could also be playing for Crossmolina come championship.

WJ - Obviously you wont post this and it doesnt matter to me one way or the other, You are contradicting yourself in your reply to me. Posting twice on the same topic within 72 hours only invites more comment of the topic, no matter how you moderate it. Its rather Trumpesque of you to say l speak " untruths". Nothing l have said is untrue. But dont let let those fact get in the way of an auld blog.

@clare - maybe i should apologise if it looks like I said fans shouldn’t be sad to see him go.
What I mean is that they should have made the effort to see him while he was there and I know they didn’t. The eyes not lie.
I am not a Crossmolina fan, I have no connection to the place. I am a Mayo fan who had the pleasure of watching Crossmolina in the days of Ciarán and was intrigued to see he had a son playing.
I was delighted to see him play and so inspired to see a young man who wasn’t living of his father’s name but had clearly dedicated his youth to cultivating the outstanding skills he displayed and I was delighted to make the efforts to go and see him on more occasions.
More delighted my son got to see him rather than the lads down the road sitting on Xbox and never taking the chance and the adults who never bothered but then moan when he’s gone.
Yes, there will be abuse in Australia but that’s towards professional players who get paid, not to amateur players who are getting abused by talentless people from their own country .
So , I apologise if I suggested people can’t be sad if they didn’t go to see him play but I stand by the point people should have gone to see him play when they had chance

Fourpointgoal - I will post your comment, to show again to all and sundry that you don't know what you're talking about. I put up two pieces on this topic as this was simply following a national story that had already broken and which people were already discussing here. Had I not put anything up at all in response to the story, there would still be the same debate on it here - that's the way the blog operates and if you knew anything about how debate happens on the blog then you'd know that. But you clearly don't so you have no idea what you're talking about.

Your repeated allegation that I'm stoking the debate is a blatant untruth - as I've explained I've made every effort over the last number of months to keep a lid on this particular discussion here on the blog. I'm done now with your repeated falsehoods so get your facts straight before attempting to post another comment here.

@Solo and go

Fair play for going to ses him and not a Cross fan . I went to the same secondary as Kobe and I know the whole of Cross are devastated he is going but they wish him well as do I .

Eh how do you know that the club players in Australia that don't get paid don't get abuse to ??! I'd say they do tbh ... !!

That was nice of Kobe to give time to your son. Not surprised a gent he is .

@clare - maybe they do get abuse too. I probably got that wrong too
But I suppose point I making is someone of ciarans talent should never have been abused by his own people or by any GAA fan

@Solo and go

I totally agree and I hate to say it but maybe tbat had a part to play in this but anyway we all wish him the best of luck .

Time to concentrate on the other great talents we have coming up and get behind Andy. In other debate I am glad Andy is being ruthless we need that !

I see league fixtures are leaked out to certain counties already !

There isn’t the money in the GAA to
Go semi pro. Even if we did there is every chance the lads would leave for the AFL anyway,
As JP said above, players at inter county level are pretty well looked after. Paying players is just not feasible
An Aussie rules isn’t a patch on Gaelic football to play or watch

Is there any reports available on the u21 club championship which had games played at the weekend? The Claremorris Westport game must have had 4-5 lads in the mix for the Mayo senior squad.

I find this ongoing discussion around Kobe exhausting. We need the county board to make another gaffe to take the limelight

Roco88 - I agree with you. Everyone has had their say on Kobe and its time to move on.
Two things I noticed about the u21 games this weekend - number one games were very close and were therefore compeditive. Number two the scoring was high especially considering the weather - this is a good sign.
Would love to here more reports on the games.

Just checked the u21 results, jese ya, results were very close. You'd normally have a few one sided games.

My first and last comment since confirmation of Kobe's planned move to the AFL. It's his choice to make and I am sure that he listened to advice from his parents and others before making it. I wish him nothing but the best. As a Mayo supporter, I am of course extremely disappointed that we are losing such a generational talent, that possibly could be the difference between us finally getting our hands on Sam, or not-just look at David Clifford with Kerry. In the bigger picture, I'm not sure what the GAA can do to counteract the annual AFL raiding of the cream of our young talent, but they need to do something, anything that counterbalances the attraction of the AFL. Something along the lines of of identifying these young talents and likely AFL targets and offering them education/apprenticeship bursaries that might entice, at least, some of them to stay put. PS. It has always puzzled me why Dublin seem to lose very few of their leading young talents and I can't help having a strong suspicion that they are "looked after".

Christ enjoy the few months in summer Kobe,Ciaran and Karen.
Get back when it's important.
Up Mayo.

Kobe is to skillful for that B...#x of a sport.Wish him well.but look at the lads that we have. I never seen more exciting times for mayo football.one or two player's won't win feck all it's a full panel of players,and by God we are getting there.

We have all wished Kobe well and the best of luck to him so I agree with others its time to move on and concentrate on the lads that want to play for Mayo

Absolutely, Glorydays. We wish him all the best, but it’s time to focus on the players who are fully committed and will continue to represent Mayo at inter-county level.

There’s little point in including someone in the U20 setup if their focus is elsewhere. The lads who are dedicated to Mayo, and who have worked just as hard to reach this stage, deserve full support as they develop into top inter-county footballers. Mayo has no shortage of talent, provided it’s managed well.

We’d all have loved to see him potentially follow in his father’s and many of his club mates footsteps and become a Mayo great in the green and red at senior level, as most people in Ireland and GAA fans would, but his mind is now made up. His goals is to now represent the club of St Kilda and no longer Mayo. It’s a fantastic opportunity, and no one can really fault him for giving it a go.

Correct, time to move on.
We will have a big problem replacing Reape.
Not his fault we had poor fielders and a poor planB last year

It must be disheartening for club volunteers and committees to bring boys an girls up through the ranks always hoping to develop a winning team only to have AFL take the fruits of their labour and put nothing back into the grassroots of the GAA. I don't think anything can be done about it. I would like to think that the men and women who have gone to AFL that they at least gave a heartfelt thank you to the club volunteers.

People are entitled to be disheartened by Kobe's departure as it is undoubtedly a loss to Mayo GAA. However, as many have said, it is his choice to make, good luck to him and I hope he achieves everything that his talents merit.

So ... what can we do. We know the key issues - amateur v professional, rain v sun, old v new, money v no money. Not a lot is the answer. But there are some levers that can be pulled that will be of some help.

First, every player who chooses to go to the AFL needs to be prohibited from playing for their club during the AFL offseason. Players who are committed to their club should not lose the opportunity to play to someone who is registered with an AFL club. In addition, if an AFL player returns from Oz they should not be eligible to play with club or county for a 12 month period. Every choice is life has a consequence and this situation should be no different. Watching a club game and knowing you could be out there with your childhood friends and being the difference may encourage a change of thinking at some point.

Secondly, those who are making money out of scouting for the AFL are fully entitled to do. However, the rest of us are fully entitled to treat them with disdain when they also criticise the GAA and roll out the "Up Mayo" BS. Don't engage with them on social media and don't listen to their podcasts. Remember, Mayo gave the world the word "Boycott" and it has become globally famous and utilised because of its effectiveness. We need to be as smart and ruthless as our ancestors.

Thirdly, let's talk about money, money, money. I have tried to raise this topic many times on this blog and it has been met with silence. There seems to be a self-imposed vow of Omerta. Well ... it's time to break through the silence and shine a light on the murky depths. Start with simple questions: how much do managers get paid? Do some players get "enhanced expenses" How does sponsorship work? Who pays for the army of backroom staff? etc, etc. We can then get on to the trickier topic of "minding" a player which usually means being parachuted into a job for which he is not best qualified all in the name of keeping him around for a few year to kick a ball. This is emblematic of the low-level corruption that is a regular part of Irish life. Time to hold it up to the light and let it burn. By having an honest conversation about money we can start to see where there might be real opportunities for moving to a semi-professional game. Without such transparency we are just condemned to endless self-defeating BS.

Finally, there are many GAA players in Ireland that didn't make it on Oz or choose to come back of their own accord. Their stories need to be publicised so that those tempted by the AFL can see that it is not all glamour but hard and unrelenting work where players can be ditched in an instant. Some may have the physical attributes for such an environment but far fewer have the psychological ones.

As a side note, we cannot do anything about the lack of sun but maybe global warming will sort that out in time!

So, in summary, there are levers we can pull to at least move the balance slightly. This is just a start, but a start needs to be made and now.

Rob Hennelly, Cillian and James Carr all back in the Mayo panel.

Well that's some positive news about those 3 returning not all doom & gloom !

Back to the PAST. Andy showing the ruthless streak that Clare referenced.

Maggie in fairness we have no better keeper then Hennelly to replace Reape by the looks of it .

James Carr & Cillian still have something to offer .

@glasagusdearg

I don't think that's true in the case of Dublin. Over the past decade they've had Rory O'Carroll, Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion all step away or leave as young men for years on end. No amount of incentives to stay could help the matter. In the case of McCaffrey, that was after winning man of the match in an all Ireland final. Fenton has retired exceptionally early, again just wanting to do something different with life.

I get that we were all very excited with Kobe's potential, but at the end of the day he was a player who hadn't even played u20 for Mayo yet. Two of those above are two of the greatest players to ever play the game

I think we also need to be rational as far as losing players. It's quirky to lose a player to AFL as it's a strange sport far away. Good young athletes are lost to other sports all the time however. We've been unlucky to lose 3 now to AFL but we almost certainly, as a football team, lose slightly less top athletes to soccer, rugby, hurling etc than some of our peers. It's just annoying when something like this comes along as it's an obvious poach. It's less obvious when it's say a Brian o Driscoll or Seamus Coleman who by all accounts were exceptionally talented footballers but went a different way aged 16

Interesting seeing so many lads who stepped away under last set up returning...

@Gizmobobs thats what I was thinking to !

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-41736375.html

Paul Durcan, former donegal keeper in as goalkeeping coach

First league game away to Galway, 24/25 January

Firstly there would be plenty comments on here over this topic weather WJ posted it or not, so i think to say hes fueling it is unfair, its on balls.ie and all over Facebook, although i have no doubts he is a huge loss, fact is it would have been to soon for him to step up this year anyway, lets see what new mangerment bring, we are up there with top teams, dont think last set up got the best out of what we have.

Any sign of the league fixtures being released ?

Andy has over 70 players in. Probably not a great sign on the other keepers with Robbie’s return but he could be an addition culturally.

People saying Cillian finished: saw him twice this year and he was the best forward on the pitch. Unless ye can name 10 better.
Beirne, Hurley and CO will get great support from him and I can’t see any negatives with him being in that dressing room.

@Clubman51

I know our first league game is away to Galway on Jan 24th/25th .

Your right on Cillian !

@Stephenite.I think that you have misinterpreted my point about Dublin losing players. The 3 players that you mentioned, and correct me if I am wrong, I don't think a y of them were poached by the AFL, which is the particular issue that I was highlighting. These left the panel for different reasons.

Clubman51 - are Beirne and Hurley on the panel? I thought Cillian was very disappointing in the club championship. If his biggest benefit is in the dressing room not the pitch why not just add him to the backroom team.

What games are you referring to @just a thought ?

I watched him against Charlestown and Knockmore. Think he was top scorer in both games.

Aussies swoop in and snap up our precious talent (we’re not the only county of course); meanwhile the GAA is considering restricting coaches from operating outside their clubs/counties.

Love it. Maybe Paddy Tally and Paul Durcan will have to go back?

I think it's a positive, the return of the 3 lads...Hennelly is a big surprise,I didn't see that happening...the more competition for jerseys the better in my book, and introduce the best of the youngsters gradually.

Willie Joe it's cat since the dog died.🤘

Eoghan Mcgloughlin also back in and I presume Conor Loftus has been recalled

If Cillian and Carr are back then Evan Regan should also be brought back

Can't have enough scoring forwards

Does anyone know if Tom Lydon has been called in?

No he hasn’t Mayo 4698. Andy’s loss will be Keith Higgins gain

Has the panel been announced? Somewhere?

Is the whole McDonald family emigrating to Australia

It hasn’t Catcol, it’s just that piece in the Examiner that references the return of the three lads. I see someone is claiming Eoghan McLaughlin has been recalled as well but I think there may be an element of creative writing there.

GK is a tough gig at the end of the day.
Jack Livingston was very good this year for Breaffy and can score long range frees.
Rory Byrne again consistent GK for Castlebar for 10 years now.
Adrian Philips from Ballyhaunis Mayo sub I haven't seen enough of him but he deserves a shot in the upcoming FBD.

@glasagusdearg you said "It has always puzzled me why Dublin seem to lose very few of their leading young talents and I can’t help having a strong suspicion that they are “looked after”."

Which insinuates that financial incentives are made to keep Dublins best players playing for Dublin. Yet Dublin couldn't keep two of the greatest players to ever play the game playing for them at age 25 to 30, while another greatest ever retired at 30. Which means they obviously weren't "looked after" at all

The idea that some magic benefactor should "look after" a guy who'd never played more than intercounty minor while some of the greatest players to ever play clearly weren't sufficiently incentivised to stay is a strange one. I think we've lost the run of ourselves as to the difference between potential and substance

Thanks Willie Joe. Hard to keep up with the roller coaster media world. And that’s just Mayo GAA!

In fairness Clubman51, if it's the number 1 jersey they're after, they'd want to be putting 2 hands up 😉

I wonder were the family asked the question, "What would it take to make ye stay"
Not necessarily people directly involved in Mayo GAA. Just make i happen.
Would that have been worth a shot ?

Good one,You Three.
Nothing worse than a one handed goalkeeper. Ha ha.

@Stephenite.You are still missing the point I was making, which was in the context of many counties losing their most promising young players to the AFL and was not specifically about Kobe. I merely suggested that I found it odd that Dublin, with their huge population and conveyor belt of young talent don't seem to lose many of their young talents to the AFL and wonder why. . The three players that you mentioned are more mature players, who were not poached by the AFL and left for their own different reasons which did'nt involve and AFL attraction.

"The idea that some magic benefactor should “look after” a guy who’d never played more than intercounty minor while some of the greatest players to ever play clearly weren’t sufficiently incentivised to stay is a strange one. I think we’ve lost the run of ourselves as to the difference between potential and substance "
@ stephenite in fairness its anymous posters on a forum that have suggested such an idea , the guy himself has made his owm mind up and doesn't care about a magic benefactor .
Between posters asking " is the whole mc donald family moving to Australia " to I wonder were the family asked the question, “What would it take to make ye stay” have ye ever thought, its none of your business ?

Fair point deel rover, a good question i heard was should the GAA even be involved at all, is it any different than an up and coming star leaving to concentrate fully on a regular job abroad in another field. Also don't like the idea that "clubs investment in young players is wasted" they played for their teams all the up and for most volunteers involved with youth teams, their return on investment is in that year, seeing lads grow as players and people.Un relation to the families, both AFL clubs for Kobe Kobe and Ben Murphy announced they looked forward to welcoming their families as well, which is right considering their ages

Do the clubs play a players wages if they get injured while playing and are out of work long term ? They dont so the idea that they should get paid is a joke ? Yes , they may have helped nuture him however he put in a lot of hard work himself and they got a lot in return thrmselves . I read an article by kieran shannon during the week which stated that Kobe is also an excellent basketball player , he said you dont hear them shouting about been reimbursed for helping develop his skills. There is a fiece sense of entitlement to the gaa fan .

There's very little the gaa CBs affected can do officially. Financially at least, I'm sure in some cases there's non official payments or arrangements being made to help make life easier for lads who stay. Similar to the fancy warehouse used for accomodation for some of our own lads.

They could do some things like increase scholarships, or prohibit lads returning in off season from playing club GAA in the off season, could cite player welfare e.g. professional athletes v amateurs is a risk.

With the Western Rail Corridor getting state approval, I think Mayo councillors should do all they can to ensure a rail line is laid from Claremorris to Knock. In doing so, I'm sure the gods will act benevolantly and lift the curse, and who knows Sam could be returning to Knock in a few years time.