FORMER MINOR ALL-IRELAND-WINNING captain Mark O\u2019Connor has joined AFL club Geelong.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor played on Kerry\u2019s victorious underage sides in 2014 and 2015, captaining Jack O\u2019Connor\u2019s charges in the latter, and has chosen the Cats after a number of AFL sides expressed interest in the Dingle man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made the decision to go to Geelong,\u201d O\u2019Connor, who has signed an international two-year rookie contract, told\u00a0Radio na Gaeltachta\u2019s An Saol \u00f3 Dheas this morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very quiet place, like Dingle, and I was very comfortable there. I was really taken with Geelong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went in there everyone was very friendly, and I felt at home there,\u201d the 19-year-old midfielder added.<\/p>\n
The news comes as a blow for Kerry as O\u2019Connor had been widely tipped to progress to the Kingdom\u2019s senior ranks in coming years.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor admitted Kerry management were happy for him but had hoped that he would stay in Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were very happy to hear about it on a personal level, but with their Kerry caps on they weren\u2019t as happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thanked them for all their help. It was a bit mixed I suppose. They were very happy for me personally, but as managers and players they weren\u2019t as happy. They didn\u2019t put any pressure on me to stay, they said it was my own decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Connor will move to Geelong, a city about 50km south-west of Melbourne, in the next three or four weeks.<\/p>\n
The Cats are one of the most successful clubs in the AFL and have won three Grand Finals over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
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