Jack O Connor looking for compensation again for players leaving for the AFL.
I get it's frustrating to lose players, but it's an amateur game. Someone should really tell the Kerry lads this. This is a new level of yerra idiocy.
Imo Jack O’Connor is doing an excellent job here. He knows full well that compensation is not realistic in our amateur game. Everyone at senior inter-county and Croke Park level knows that. This is not a serious policy proposal and was never meant to be.
What JOC is really doing is shaping the narrative.
The audience is not the Aussies, GAA Congress or administrators. It is families, players on the fence, and clubs who are watching elite young footballers being contacted earlier and earlier by AFL scouts. By talking about investment and loss to the club and community, he is cleverly reframing the decision psychologically.
Instead of “My son is chasing a professional opportunity”
It becomes “My son is walking away from a club and community that invested years in him”
That introduces moral friction and social pressure.
That matters hugely in a rural GAA context especially where community standing and reputation, legacy and how you leave really matter.. No one is saying players should be blocked from going. What is being highlighted is that the decision is not value-neutral for communities, clubs and counties who have put time, coaching and scarce resources into developing these lads.
Calling this Yerra idiocy misunderstands imo how influence works in amateur sport ecosystems in rural communities. This is classic GAA psychology. Raise the perceived cost of leaving, especially for those who might be getting their head turned by a glossy version of Australia that very often does not materialise. And it matters more now than ever because the AFL recruitment is systematic, not opportunistic. Players are being contacted younger and Counties are losing real depth, not just fringe players
For Kerry in particular, where identity, continuity and community production of elite footballers is so central, departures land differently. Unfortunately we are far more used to losing players out of Cork football. The Kerry subtext is simple:
“You can go if you want, but don’t pretend it doesn’t matter in where you came from.”
That is not bitterness. That is leadership within an amateur framework.
Whether people like the tactic or not, this is a smart, deliberate intervention by one of the greatest managers in Irish sport. O’Connor understands his own and the ecosystem he operates in. He understands human behaviour (even if they are animals) and in fairness is protecting his county and its clubs using the only levers that actually exist in an amateur game. In that sense, he deserves massive credit even if you don’t agree with the tactic imo.
