In what will come as a major blow to Jack O’Connor and his management team, Kerry star Cillian Burke has been snapped up by AFL side Geelong Cats.
The promising Milltown/Castlemaine clubman made the breakthrough to the Kerry senior set-up last year after an impressive county championship campaign with Mid Kerry.
His strength, speed and versatility – he is comfortable anywhere in the middle eight – immediately caught the eye of Aussie Rules scouts and Burke was invited to Australia for trials and to see the professional set-up there.
Geelong has now confirmed the signing of Burke on a Category B rookie contract for a 12-month term.
The 21-year-old Milltown man (pictured) will move down under in late November to begin preparations for the 2025 season.
He will join Dingle’s Mark O’Connor – a former Kerry underage star – who is one of Geelong’s star players.
“Cillian is a very athletic and a talented prospect. We are thrilled he has decided to join Geelong and can’t wait to welcome him to Australia next month,” said Geelong general manager Andrew Mackie.
He added: “We understand Cillian has made a big life decision to move to Australia. We will support him and have a plan in place to make a smooth transition to the Cats”.
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