Irish Docker ready to live AFL dream

Fremantle’s new Irish recruit Sean Hurley has received a lot of weird looks over the past year, but he says it’s all been worth it as he closes in on his AFL dream.

After failing to land a spot on an AFL list last year, Hurley went back to Ireland to sharpen his skills with the help of some correspondence from the Dockers.

But he soon discovered that taking an Aussie Rules football onto a Gaelic pitch wasn’t the best idea.

“I remember one day I went for a kick before Gaelic training and the manager came and kicked it into the hedge,” Hurley said with a laugh.

“He was only messing (around), but … it wasn’t allowed on the pitch.

“I had to get it after training.”

Hurley arrived in Perth last week and will join his new teammates for the start of the club’s pre-season training on November 17.

The 22-year-old from county Kildare in Ireland first trained with the Dockers for three weeks last year.

The 196cm midfielder didn’t earn a spot on the list that time around, but showed enough improvement in his time away from the club to land a position as a category B rookie last month.

Hurley says he has been in close touch with fellow Irishman and Sydney premiership star Tadhg Kennelly during his journey to make it to the AFL.

“I remember when I was a young lad, looking at Tadhg Kennelly dancing on top of the stage after winning the grand final,” Hurley said.

“That was on the news at nine o’clock, so everyone in Ireland was watching that.

“If someone else could do something similar to that, it could give another boost to the sport in Australia.”

Hurley said his endurance and aerial skills were his strengths, but he conceded his foot skills might need some work.

“I like to think I’m a good kick, but I was out kicking with one of the Freo boys there and he was pinging them onto my chest and a few of mine were just going off track,” Hurley said.

“I’ve got a lot of learning to do.

“It’s a different game. I’m just going to work hard and try and get good at it. It’s a dream come true to be here.”

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