The Milltown man, who impressed for the Kerry seniors this year, wants to follow in fellow Kerry man, Mark O’Connor’s footsteps at the Geelong Cats
Cillian Burke – Kerry and Ireland’s newest recruit to the Australian Football League – says it was the professionalism of the Aussie Rules sport that stood out to him when he was weighing up whether to stay in Ireland and continue with his nascent career as a Kerry football, or move to the other side of the world to take up contract with AFL club Geelong Cats.
Burke was the speculation of a move to the AFL for the latter part of the year, following an impressive debut season with the Kerry senior team, and his decision to sign with the Geelong Cats – where Dingle’s Mark O’Connor and Oisin Mullin from Mayo are on the roster – was confirmed a few weeks ago.
The Milltown/Castlemaine club man has just come off a nearly day-long journey from Mid Kerry to Geelong, to the south of Melbourne, and has visited his new home at GMHBA Stadium. Burke has signed with the Cats as a Category B Rookie for the 2025 season, and has spoken via the team’s media channel about his decision to join the 2022 AFL Premiership champions.
“The professionalism of the sport [AFL] stood out to me. Back home [Gaelic football] is obviously an amateur sport and everything, but seeing the professionalism and the facilities here it is hard to get our head around. The change and the personal nature of the sport, it is weird to see how much you can improve having that environment around you.
At home I am an explosive kind of player with a strong running game, with pace and a fast player,” Burke said, and his new team will be hoping he can transfer that athleticism and speed to his new game, where playing with an oval ball will be one of the major challenges for the 21-year-old.
Burke also spoke of the draw of the Geelong club. where he will link up with former Kerry minor, Mark O’Connor, who has established himself as one of the most successful Irish players in the AFL.
