Four years after he first made a blip on the Adelaide Crows radar, Monaghan native Karl Gallagher has signed with the AFL side.
Gallagher spent three weeks on trial at the club before Christmas and impressed sufficiently to be offered a two-year deal.
The 21-year-old started all eight of Monaghan's games in last year's championship as new manager Vinny Corey injected youth into the side.
There's a new Crow in town, with Adelaide signing 21-year-old Gaelic footballer Karl Gallagher on a rookie deal | @Adelaide_FC @AFL @joshuacwebster #AFL pic.twitter.com/60vRfh8yfe
— 10 News First Adelaide (@10NewsFirstAdl) January 8, 2024
"It was definitely a tough decision to officially make the move, I went back home over Christmas and had some long chats with my family and friends," the Emyvale man told the Adelaide Crows website.
"It’s a big commitment moving across the world and something I didn’t take lightly.
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"Opportunities like this don’t come around too often, so I was happy to take it with both hands and commit to being part of this footy club for the next two years."
27 May 2023; Shane McGuigan of Derry in action against Karl Gallagher of Monaghan during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 1 match between Derry and Monaghan at Celtic Park in Derry. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
In 2019, Gallagher was invited to the AFL's European Combine in Dublin where he met Adelaide's recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie. A visit to the Crows' team facility was pencilled in for early 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic prevented the trip from happening.
"It had always been in the back of my mind," Gallagher explained, "but in 2022 and 2023 I was keen to break into my senior Gaelic team so I fully committed to that.
"But once the past season ended, I wanted to give the AFL another crack and was happy to have the Crows still interested in getting me across."
Gallagher will join Corkman Mark Keane at the Crows.
"The training sessions are quite similar (to Gaelic), but the big thing for me is getting used to the ball, and that is just going to come with more reps over the summer," said Gallagher.
"I don’t have too many expectations for this year, it’s all about getting the fundamentals right and seeing where that takes me.
"Everyone knows to get into an AFL team you just need to put your head down and work, and that is my mentality for 2024 and beyond."
