Welcome Cillian Burke signs with Geelong

[cats_09]

Geelong continues its love affair with Ireland and showing the league it's the true home of the Irish as we welcome our 7th current Irish player across both our AFL & AFLW teams as Cillian Burke signs as a Cat B rookie:

Geelong has signed exciting young Irish talent Cillian Burke as a Category B rookie ahead of the 2025 AFL season.

Recruited out of Kerry, the same Gaelic club as fellow Irishman and Cats midfielder Mark O’Connor, Burke has impressed back home with his athleticism, speed and ball skills.

Viewed by many as one of the Gaelic Athletic Association’s most promising and a highly touted youngsters, at 21 years of age, Burke will arrive in Australia in late November and join the Cats for the beginning of the 2025 pre-season.

Burke is set to be the seventh Irish-born player at Geelong in 2025, joining Oisin Mullin and Mark O’Connor on the AFL list, with Kate Kenny, Aishling Moloney, Rachel Kearns and Anna-Rose Kennedy all playing a key role in Geelong’s 2024 AFLW season.

“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,” Geelong General Manager – Football Andrew Mackie

Andrew Mackie

Age

40

Ht

193cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

6.6

4star

M

5.7

5star

T

2.1

4star

MG

346.7

5star

No current season stats available

D

9.0

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.2

4star

said.

“A very established GGA player, 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 and our football program.”

Cats secure Burke as Category B rookie

Geelong has signed exciting young Irish talent Cillian Burke as a Category B rookie ahead of the 2025 AFL season.

www.geelongcats.com.au

 

[winty]

 

[year of the cat]

Looks a terrific athlete. Powerful type.

 

[patience]

Welcome Cillian.

 

[Live in hope]

Really like the look of those highlights - looked eager to take on the contest and assured under pressure. Looks good physically.
Hopefully Oisin and Mark can make him comfortable on the vagaries of the oval ball. Welcome Cillian.

 

[Strange Cat]

Really like the look of those highlights - looked eager to take on the contest and assured under pressure. Looks good physically.
Hopefully Oisin and Mark can make him comfortable on the vagaries of the oval ball. Welcome Cillian.

Looks comfortable in traffic ..granted not the same sort in the AFL but it’s there at least

 

[CharacterFirst]

Another flippin rort!

 

[Turbocat]

Any chance we can employ 2E to teach him how to kick? He looks like he will be a take it on type...

Any player that wants to back himself like that must be used to being quicker than an opponent…. lets see how he finds it when he can be tackled….

What sort of time frame would we put on him …. as Mullins has shown its not PnP? A year in the VFL?

Really it might be time to have an alt strip with a bit of green in it … the additions in the male and female list are have a great input….

 

[FootyLad0]

Another flippin rort!

Waiting for someone to suggest we have a secret deal with an Irish based company and are getting kickbacks to sign Irish folk

 

[bulletproof]

Moves well!

Watching him reminds me of seeing early O’Connor. Geez I hope they let O’Connor settle in the backpocket next year.

 

[cats_09]

Waiting for someone to suggest we have a secret deal with an Irish based company and are getting kickbacks to sign Irish folk

Apparently Merrick & Cillian are Scott's assistants at his other job

 

[Mattlock]

Get him a director position at Morris Finance stat

 

[Hamingja]

Do we have a height? Looks more a MOC size heading up to high 180s?

Would love a free running attacking Irishmen but we seem to prefer to use the Irish kids athleticism for tactical purposes instead.

 

[Hamingja]

Get him a director position at Morris Finance stat

The Irishmen get a $1 pub instead silly. All the Guinness they can drink.

 

[Strange Cat]

Get him a director position at Morris Finance stat

No grow the hair long and get that sweet sweet cotton on money

 

[D BRIDGE]

He looks an almost perfect size/shape for our game... Will Day like.

I think he will have a better game sense than Mullin who is more of a power athlete.

This guy looks like he has great timing and mouse + moves very nicely.

Reckon this could be a very good signing.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Welcome, Killer.

 

[TheMenz Gallery]

I really like those long handballs out in front of teammates who don’t have to miss a stride running on to them

 

[dazbroncos]

Good shot worth taking
Expect nothing from him for 3 years.
Give him the VFL and let him cook and learn.

Makes the Furphy move obvious. Onwards and upwards

Go Catters

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Waiting for someone to suggest we have a secret deal with an Irish based company and are getting kickbacks to sign Irish folk

Paying the Kerry player in Gold? I can't believe he's not Butters

 

[Iago]

Good shot worth taking
Expect nothing from him for 3 years.
Give him the VFL and let him cook and learn.

Makes the Furphy move obvious. Onwards and upwards

Go Catters

I reckon Scotty and the club likes to get the Irish in the ones early on.
A bit like throwing your kid in the pool to learn how to swim.

 

[Footy Smarts]

I reckon Scotty and the club likes to get the Irish in the ones early on.
A bit like throwing your kid in the pool to learn how to swim.

100% if we like what he shows at training over preseason he'll play next year. Very unlikely to be best 22 but we'll give him a couple of games as a taste.

 

[Turbocat]

100% if we like what he shows at training over preseason he'll play next year. Very unlikely to be best 22 but we'll give him a couple of games as a taste.

IF he up to it I agree…. I seem to remember we dropped MOC in it when he looked like eric the eel at the Olympics ...

it depends on him being able to show his running capabilities. One would think the club would have an idea how he would stack up

If one is trying to attract someone like him to our game and then keep him here etc…. Id say a couple of AFL games early on is probably going to be more of a hook than playing VFL with empty stands. Whether its at Geelong or the G or where ever I suspect he gets a look and hook in 25.

 

[Footy Smarts]

IF he up to it I agree…. I seem to remember we dropped MOC in it when he looked like eric the eel at the Olympics ...

it depends on him being able to show his running capabilities. One would think the club would have an idea how he would stack up

If one is trying to attract someone like him to our game and then keep him here etc…. Id say a couple of AFL games early on is probably going to be more of a hook than playing VFL with empty stands. Whether its at Geelong or the G or where ever I suspect he gets a look and hook in 25.

MOC was raw for sure but for some reason people around here massively overstate how underdone the Irish guys are.

MOC was basically the same quality of player as Knevitt, Clohesy, Neale, SDK, Clark, O'Sullivan, etc when they debuted. He was young and skinny and a deer in headlights but so were all the others.

Mullin was much more physically ready and closer to a worthy selection on merit. He's done more good things in his first 18 games (4 of those as sub) than most youngsters do in that time. But even after a couple of really solid performances in finals where he was preferred to Tuohy and Duncan he's talked about pretty harshly around here. Plenty saying he's still a liability and needs a lot more VFL time.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

I really like those long handballs out in front of teammates who don’t have to miss a stride running on to them

Agree - looks like the gaelic game prepares them well for handball.
Similarly MOC and Oisin came along very quickly with the kicking side of the game , let's hope Cillian has a similar trajectory.