Derry's Callum Brown continues to make an impact with the Greater Western Sydney Giants in Australia.
Then teen signed a contract at the end of 2018 after he was spotted by the Irish scouting program in July 2017 and undertook a 12-month trial process. Brown played for Derry at minor and U20 level and enjoyed much success during his stint, collecting Ulster Championship medals and making an All-Ireland final at minor.
When he signed for GWS Giants, List Manager Jason McCartney hailed him as an " athletic and skilful player" and Brown demonstrated that during their VFL clash with Gold Coast with a sensational goal.
Callum Brown take a bow!
The Irish Rookie provides the NEAFL GIANTS with a sensational highlight in the opening term against the Gold Coast Suns.
GIANTS trail by 41 points at quarter time.#NeverSurrender pic.twitter.com/KoHIKglY0K
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) July 28, 2019
The rookie finished with 15 disposals for the match. He is just one of several Irish prospects making an impact in their debut year.
Former Kerry U20 and minor star Stefan Okunbor is doing similar at Geelong.
Fantastic story for @GeelongVFL in 2019 has been the form of former GAA Kerry rising star Stefan Okunbor.@VFL #VFL #WeAreGeelong #Quadzilla https://t.co/xajCrSsU01
— ArjGiese ? (@ArjGiese) July 17, 2019
Speaking to Balls.ie earlier this month, Okunbor explained the combination of fellow Irish team-mates and an analytical approach to training progression has proved fruitful.
"It was tough at the start. It can be quite overwhelming, you leave your comfort zone and you’ve been introduced to a new bunch of players. I’m very grateful for the other Irish lads, Mark O’Connor and Zach Tuohy. They’ve helped me massively with the transition.
"We don’t do this at home, but here we record training sessions and each player has his own stats coach who makes edits. Every kick you do at training, every handling, every run you make is recorded and you watch it back.
"They have cameramen come in and pull you aside to record kicking action. There could be two or three cameras on you. They record your kicking and bring you into a room after to say, 'right. Your ball drop is a bit too high. If you do it this way, you’ll get a more piercing, darting kick.'
"You can analyse your game. So, Zach and Mark have both sat me down and spent an hour or two with me to point it all out: 'You can make this run. Follow this pattern.' Stuff like that. That's been hugely beneficial."
And the number of Irish in the AFL is only set to increase. 20-year-old Ross McQuillan of Armagh looks set to make the move and join Tyrone's Conor McKenna at the Essendon Bombers in Melbourne.
