David Clifford Identifies Those Hit Hardest By GAA Migration To AFL

Kerry star David Clifford has described the trend of AFL clubs snagging talent from Irish shores as "disappointing" for the clubs involved.

The Fossa forward spoke on the issue to Balls.ie on Monday, as he was named the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for July in football.

Several Kingdom stars have made the move Down Under in recent years, with Milltown-Castlemaine’s Cillian Burke departing in 2024 to join Geelong, where Dingle native Mark O'Connor is a teammate.

Elsewhere, dual star Rob Monahan is now in his second year with the Melbourne-based Carlton Blues.

Earlier this week, news came through of another potential exile, with Austin Stacks clubman Ben Murphy due to travel to visit the Brisbane Lions amid talk of approaches from more than one AFL club.

The youngster was a commanding presence at midfield as he helped Kerry to success over Cork in the Munster U20 final back in April, while he also claimed silverware at club level as Stacks overcame St Kierans in the Kerry U-21 Football Championship last month.

At last year's Kerry GAA convention, chairman Patrick O'Sullivan called on Croke Park to take action in relation to the AFL's "constant scrutiny of our younger stars in Ireland".

Nonetheless, the conveyor belt continues to move, and should Murphy pen a deal with the Lions, he would join as a Category B rookie ahead of the 2025/26 AFL season.

David Clifford has been a mainstay in the Kerry lineup since making his senior debut as a prodigious talent back in 2018, and enjoyed All-Ireland senior successes both this year and in 2022.

Reflecting on interest from the AFL in the GAA's top young stars, the two-time Player of the Year stressed it was ultimately hardest on the clubs losing their top stars.

"I wanted to stay and play with Kerry if I could, so I didn't really get close to a move [to the AFL]. Obviously, we want to keep our players - whatever about Kerry, it's clubs that it's the hardest thing for.

"You're developing a player for 17,18 years and then for them to go, you could never hold it against anyone personally - it's obviously a massive opportunity - but it's disappointing when a club would lose one of their main players."

After his haul of 8-62 across nine championship games kicked Kerry on to a record-extending 39th All-Ireland football title, the Fossa clubman - set to turn 27 in January - admitted he has never considered when his peak may be.

"I've never really thought about that [entering prime years].

"I suppose prime [years] are different for everyone, Michael Owen said he had his prime at 17, I always remember, so I don't know, I'm not too sure to be honest."