On Thursday, one of Kerry football's hottest prospects departs the county for Australia.
Mark O'Connor has signed a two-year rookie deal with AFL side Geelong.
The Dingle midfielder was an essential part of the Kerry minor teams which won successive All-Irelands under Jack O'Connor in 2014 and 2015. Noted for his exceptional high-fielding, O'Connor moved on this year to be part of the Kerry U21 setup, again under the guidance of Jack O'Connor. He also trained with the Kerry senior panel.
O'Connor, who also won Hogan Cups with Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in 2014 and 2015, is a huge loss to Kerry.
Speaking on Radio Kerry's Terrace Talk, four-time All-Ireland winner Killian Young said that something has to be done to stop Kerry hemorrhaging talent in the future.
What worries me is that we're after winning three-in-a-row in the minors. Top quality players coming through. The fear I have is that they're all looking at our players.
What's the point of us developing top class players in this county if they're all going away to Australia on professional contracts. We really have to find a way to protect our players; for Kerry's future, for us winning All-Irelands. There's no point in us bringing through players in these top class programmes at youth level.
One of the main individuals responsible for identifying Irish players capable of making the move from GAA to Aussie Rules is Tadhg Kennelly. The Listowel man, who won an All-Ireland with Young in 2009, is currently the AFL's international talent coordinator.
With a slight laugh, Young said that Kennelly will have to be kept away from the county,
It's just one that we'd be looking to keep Tadhg Kennelly away from us at the moment because he seems to be poaching our players. For our future in County Kerry, we need to keep on to them.
Young, who doesn't blame O'Connor for taking the chance, outlined just how much of a loss the 19-year-old will be to the county.
For Mark, it's a fantastic opportunity and I don't blame him one bit for taking that opportunity. It's the chance of a lifetime, a professional contract, playing a professional sport. It's going really develop him over the next two years in strength, pace. He has all the talent in the world. He's a top player. Lucky enough to see him on the panel in the last couple of months, so we could really see what he could produce. He was the next up and coming player for us. That's why there's disappointment in that he's gone - from Kerry's point of view.
