Emerging Tyrone star leaving AFL door ajar amid interest from down under
Tyrone starlet Eoin McElholm has said that he remains open to trying his hand at Australian rules amid interest from down under.
McElholm starred as Tyrone retained the Dalata Hotel Group All-Ireland under-20 title last month and was named Footballer of the Year for the competition today, while he has also been featuring regularly for the senior side this season, largely off the bench.
The 19-year-old was on trial with AFL club Fremantle Dockers last year and while contact has cooled somewhat in the meantime, he's not closing any doors.
He said: 'If the opportunity came, I'd definitely look into it, because I was out twice and really enjoyed it out there. Really enjoyed the whole experience.
'But just for the meantime, the focus is on Tyrone and what happens there.'
He added: 'They give me a few balls actually saying, 'Just do as much skills work as you can with them'. But that was probably more closer to when I went out last year. I was practising a lot with it.
'If I'd seen it at the house, I'd probably bate it about for a while. But no, that's nothing I'm focused on.'
His fellow countyman Conor McKenna, an All-Ireland winner in 2021, joined an elite group of Irish players to have won an AFL Premiership last year as Essendon went all the way and there has been contact between the two.
'Just when I was out last year, he was texting me, saying enjoy the whole experience and gave
me a few tips. Maybe if the opportunity does arise to let him know, he'll give me a few tips and stuff. But no, he was just basically keeping me right.'
With Tyrone having won three of the last four All-Ireland under-20 titles, a bright future beckons for them at senior level, something that would be difficult for the youngster to leave behind.
'Yeah, it definitely would. It wouldn't be a straightforward decision. I'd obviously have to think about it and stuff.
'But no, I just really enjoyed the opportunity and obviously if things weren't going well you're always a flight away from home.'
In the meantime, Tyrone have a crunch All-Ireland series Group 1 tie with Cavan on Sunday at Brewster Park, where they need a result to progress to the knockout stages, while a win could potentially see them straight through to a quarter-final.
Tyrone haven't lost to Cavan in the Championship since 1983 and have already inflicted a seven-point defeat on them in this year's Ulster Championship.
McElholm added: 'They're going to be so up for it. It's just that they're not going to want the same result as what happened that day in Healy Park.
'They're just going to do everything in their power to make it as close as possible. They're going to do whatever they can to get over the line.
'So it is psychologically difficult. You have to prepare for the game the way you prepared for them in the championship. I think we're all looking forward to it. There's a good buzz around.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
19 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Jack Conan eager to witness fanfare of a full-blown Lions tour
Jack Conan has been a British & Irish Lion before but given it was the Covid-hit tour to South Africa of 2021, the Ireland No.8 is relishing the opportunity to embrace a proper Lions touring experience when the squad leaves for Australia on Saturday. Conan, 32, was in the stands at Aviva Stadium on Friday night as Andy Farrell's squad faced Argentina ahead of departure for Perth and an opening tour match against Western Force next Saturday. Like another eight of the 12 Leinster players heading Down Under as Irish Lions, the back-rower was held at bay six days after lifting the URC trophy at Croke Park but he was kept busy on matchday. He and four provincial team-mates Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, Andrew Porter and Josh van der Flier as well English Premiership final participants, Finn Russell and Will Stuart from newly crowned champions Bath and runner-up Ollie Chessum of Leicester Tigers were on Lions duty at Dublin's UCD Bowl earlier in the day, hosting a training session for 90 school children, girls and boys ranging from 8-12 years of age, and from four primary schools nominated by the Irish provinces. Even a meet and greet with young rugby fans was out of bounds for the Lions on their last tour, with South Africa in lockdown and matches played in empty stadiums as Conan started all three Tests at No.8 against the Springboks, each game behind closed doors in Cape Town with the players bussed in and out from a secluded team hotel and training base outside of the city. The chance to experience a proper tour, backed by tens of thousands of travelling supporters forming a 'Sea of Red' in Australia, is a return to tradition, albeit one eagerly awaited by Conan. "Four years ago was still great, I loved it and had a great experience,' he said. 'In a way, you get to know the lads in such a different way because it was eight weeks of kind of solitary confinement. You have to mix. 'You still have to mix now but you're getting out and about in smaller groups whereas four years ago, everyone was just kind of sitting around.' Conan was even looking forward to watching the Lions on Friday night as they played on Irish soil for the first time in their illustrious 137-year history, just to see those red jerseys play in front of the fans, giving him a taste of what is to come over the next six weeks across 10 tour matches and three Tests against the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. "The only taste we got of that was four years ago against Japan in Edinburgh (pre-tour) and there was around 16,000 there with spaced seating, so definitely a bit different. 'I can't wait to get over there, everyone says it's just a different fanfare, a different level of excitement when you get properly on tour. But you can even see it walking around town at the moment, people in jerseys, there's a pop-up shop, so many kids outside the Shelbourne (Hotel). It's special and I'm looking forward to getting a proper run-out at some stage." Conan does believe the 2021 tour, which ended in a 2-1 Test defeat to Rassie Erasmus's 2019 World Champions, can stand him in good stead for this summer's tour, with certain provisos. 'You know what's expected of you when you put on the jersey and when you come into this environment, into camp. Other than that, it's more just the detail, the plays, calling structures and all that, it's different. 'You've lads from other countries coming in is a little bit differently than we would do, so it's just getting used to each other a little bit. 'Now, luckily, the way we want to play is quite similar to how Ireland would play so it's not that difficult to get up to speed, but the calls are all different. There's a bit of overlap with a few Leinster calls but they're different things. The same wording, so I was caught out a few times on Tuesday when you just go into autopilot a little bit. 'So that's the real challenge. But no-one expects it to be perfect in the first few days. Even in the first few games we're going to build throughout the tour and continue to get better. That's the challenge, more than anything else.'
RTÉ News
33 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Andy Farrell delivers scathing assessment of Lions defeat to Argentina
Andy Farrell didn't hold back in his criticism of his side's performance, as the British and Irish Lions prepared for their tour of Australia with a 28-24 defeat to Argentina at a sold-out Aviva Stadium. Despite dominating possession and territory against Los Pumas, the Lions were left to rue a litany of handling errors and careless offloads, as Argentina twice hit them with stunning counter-attack tries, to claim a famous win. "We made it a tough game, didn't we?" was Farrell's opening remark after full-time. Those in attendance at his press conference were left in no doubt about his thoughts on the performance. "You can try and throw it all around and say we had plenty of opportunities, and we should have done better to convert that, but the whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors. "In the end, we weren't able to put the pace on the game because of that. "You can single out one thing, but it's not just one thing, it's a compounding of quite a few bits. "The amount of balls that we threw blindly, either to the opposition or the floor, is probably a stand-out. "If you combine that with the kicking game and the aerial battle, and what is disappointing is scraps on the floor from that type of battle, it always seemed to go to Argentina, so there's a bit of fight and hunger from them that we can't accept. "Then you combine stuff at the breakdown, the lineout or whatever, and it's too much. It's too much when it all comes together, it's just compounded, and there's a reason why people do get cramp or look a bit tired or are not able to capitalise on opportunities you have created, because probably subconsciously you're suppressing yourself with the compounding of errors. It obviously needs to be addressed." Argentina held a 21-10 lead at half time, but that was in large part down to errors from the Lions. Luke Cowan-Dickie had a try disallowed for an offload early in the game, while Sione Tuipulotu was guilty of poor handling in a promising position. Defensively, they were opened up far too easily for Ignacio Mendy's opening try (below), while they were caught napping at the breakdown right on half time, as the Pumas sprinted clear for Tomas Albornoz to score after a ball popped free at the ruck. While it could be easy to use a lack of familiarity or teething problems to write off an opening defeat, Farrell refused to take that line. "I wouldn't give that excuse. We need to do better than that. It is what it is. "They capitalised very well on the back of quite a few errors from us. Congratulations to them. I'm sure that's a big moment in Argentinean history. "I think some players will have done themselves proud and they will be hurting for the team because they're all team players. Some people will be happy and some people won't and will be dying to get another chance out there. "We know where we're at, we're underway, so we're going to have to learn a lot of lessons from that. "We're not sugar-coating anything because we need to be honest. If we're not honest how do we gain trust with each other? We have to say it as it is. There are certain things we said we were going to do and we need to own that and review that properly," he added. Normally one to keep an even keel when speaking to the media, Farrell made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with both the result and performance. There were positives though. Fin Smith looked sharp at out-half, and had little to do with the sloppiness of those around him, while the scrum dominated throughout, with Finlay Bealham and Ellis Genge in particular making a strong statement in the front row. Bealham was also busy around the pitch, leading his team with 12 tackles, although even in praise of his tighthead prop, Farrell's frustrations with the overall performance couldn't be hidden. "That's what happens when you make so many errors," he said of the amount of tackles the Connacht prop had to put in. "But yeah, I thought himself and Ellis were really good today. "It [the scrum] was aggressive, the lads who started the game especially, they were aggressive and good and had Argentina under the pump a few times. So yeah, very pleased with that." And Farrell even saved the final criticism for himself. "Obviously not good enough," was how he assessed his own coaching. "I always take full responsibility, that's my role. It doesn't matter what department or whatever, I'm in charge of the job lot so it obviously wasn't good enough and I need to be better."
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Andy Farrell doesn't hold back with Lions player criticism after 'hurt' of loss
Andy Farrell admitted his first loss at British and Irish Lions boss hit hard and said he would take responsibility for it. The Lions lost 28-24 to Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in the opening game of their 10-game campaign that will now take them to Australia, with the squad jetting off from Dublin Airport on Saturday morning. Farrell had demanded that his first matchday squad would hit the ground running but he spoke of a "clunky" attacking game and a litany of errors that proved costly. "Yeah, we made it a tough game, didn't we," he said. "Obviously the first and appropriate thing to say is congratulations to Argentina, they thoroughly deserved to win the Test match. "They capitalised very well on the back of quite a few errors from us. Congratulations to them. I'm sure that's a big moment in Argentinean history. "You can try and throw it all around and say we had plenty of opportunities and we should have done better to convert that, but the whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors. In the end, we weren't able to put the pace on the game because of that. 'We're not sugar-coating anything because we need to be honest because if we're not honest how do we gain trust with each other. We have to say it as it is. There are certain things we said we were going to do and we need to own that and review that properly." He will also review his own performance, which he described as "obviously not good enough" for this game. "I always take full responsibility, that's my role," he said. "It doesn't matter what department or whatever, I'm in charge of the job lot so it obviously wasn't good enough and I need to be better." "There is a burden involved in playing for the Lions, given the history and tradition, but Farrell says that his players must quickly move on from that. It's something that goes through your mind but we've got to own that," he insisted. "We've got to take responsibility for that. 'We are the British and Irish Lions so we've got to own the right to take that jersey forward. It shouldn't be heavy. We've got brilliant players within our squad and they need to embrace that.' Farrell was asked to reflect on the two-week build-up to the historic Lions fixture, the first on Irish soil, now that the game was out of the way. The 51-year-old replied: 'I hate that, 'out of the way'. Honestly, losing hurts, especially in this jersey. So we need to find the solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves. There has to be some good come from this. We need to do better than that. It is what it is. "The Lions players, good players coming together, of course we ask a lot of them, and maybe we put too much pressure on the side because it certainly looked like we were a little bit disconnected at times. "Look, we'll review what we said we were going to own, and then we need to make sure that we get something positive from that because it's all about how we move forward. "I think some players will have done themselves proud and they will be hurting for the team because they're all team players. Some people will be happy and some people won't and will be dying to get another chance out there. We know where we're at, we're underway, so we're going to have to learn a lot of lessons from that." Farrell was also asked if the build-up was very different to what he is used to as Ireland head coach, when his players come into camp before a Six Nations, Autumn series or World Cup. 'Look, it's obviously been very different, lads coming in, you don't quite know who's coming in and then people come in you deal with that and obviously the finalists coming in after that. "Effectively you've got two sets of players that are on completely different timescales but that's the nature of what's ahead of us as well. You've got to deal with the jetlag first and foremost but then the games come thick and fast. "It's never going to be what we're used to. I think the last couple of weeks sets us in good stead in terms of the rhythm, or the lack of it. One of the reasons I'm gutted is because there's 14 lads that are getting the cap, playing for the British and Irish Lions for the first time and there's disappointment there. But the experience will stand to them." The Western Force could well feel the brunt. A host of Leinster players are primed for their first outings in that game on Saturday next. Farrell is demanding "a better all-round performance", adding: "You can single out one thing but it's not just one thing, it's a compounding of quite a few bits. "The amount of balls that we threw blindly, either to the opposition or the floor, is probably a stand-out. If you combine that with the kicking game and the aerial battle and what is disappointing is scraps on the floor from that type of battle, it always seemed to go to Argentina so there's a bit of fight and hunger from them that we can't accept. 'Then you combine stuff at the breakdown, the lineout or whatever, and it's too much. It's too much when it all comes together, it's just compounded, and there's a reason why people do get cramp or look a bit tired or are not able to capitalise on opportunities you have created, because probably subconsciously you're suppressing yourself with the compounding of errors. "It obviously needs to be addressed."
