TonyK
CibbuanoI will be a better player: Kennelly
November 18th 2009 03:51
IRISHMAN Tadhg Kennelly is back at the Sydney Swans and believes he will be a better player next season.
The 28-year-old left the club in January to pursue his boyhood dream of winning an All-Ireland final with his native County Kerry.
The 2005 premiership defender, who signed a new two-year deal with the Swans last week, joined his teammates for training on Wednesday morning after arriving in Sydney on Tuesday night.
Kennelly vowed to repay the faith the club has shown in him and said he would be able to play with a lot more freedom in 2010 after achieving his goal of winning Gaelic football's biggest prize in September.
"The club has been an unbelievable support for me and I feel I have a massive loyalty to the club," Kennelly said.
"I owe them a lot and I feel I'll be a much, much better player personally because I don't have that drawcard of going back anymore."
"I feel that weight's off my shoulders. I feel like I can express myself a lot more and just go at it."
"There's times when I was going to games here in Australia and I was thinking, 'God, I wish I was going to Croke Park and playing with Kerry,' but that weight's well off my shoulders now and I feel like I can move on and really express myself as a footballer."
Kennelly, who was dogged by knee and shoulder injuries between 2007-2008, said a year away from the AFL had left him feeling refreshed physically.
"I feel like I’m 25, 26 years of age again because I didn’t pick up any injuries over there," he said.
"There’s a lot more running (in Gaelic football) than there is over here… and there is body contact, but it’s not as severe, obviously, because you don’t have to tackle. That’s been the best thing for my body."
"The shoulder’s fantastic and I can’t wait to get a good pre-season under my belt."
The decision to return to Australia wasn't easy an easy one for Kennelly but he said he was excited about his second stint at Sydney.
"There's very little chance that I'm going to go back playing (Gaelic) football again and that was very tough for me. This is probably the toughest decision of the lot," Kennelly said.
"I'm looking forward to the next three months, obviously I've signed a two-year contract and we'll see after that but in the short term it was very, very tough to leave (Ireland)."
"Obviously having a successful year over there was a fairytale really. I'm extremely excited it's like I'm coming to a new club again."
The 28-year-old left the club in January to pursue his boyhood dream of winning an All-Ireland final with his native County Kerry.
The 2005 premiership defender, who signed a new two-year deal with the Swans last week, joined his teammates for training on Wednesday morning after arriving in Sydney on Tuesday night.
Kennelly vowed to repay the faith the club has shown in him and said he would be able to play with a lot more freedom in 2010 after achieving his goal of winning Gaelic football's biggest prize in September.
"The club has been an unbelievable support for me and I feel I have a massive loyalty to the club," Kennelly said.
"I owe them a lot and I feel I'll be a much, much better player personally because I don't have that drawcard of going back anymore."
"I feel that weight's off my shoulders. I feel like I can express myself a lot more and just go at it."
"There's times when I was going to games here in Australia and I was thinking, 'God, I wish I was going to Croke Park and playing with Kerry,' but that weight's well off my shoulders now and I feel like I can move on and really express myself as a footballer."
Kennelly, who was dogged by knee and shoulder injuries between 2007-2008, said a year away from the AFL had left him feeling refreshed physically.
"I feel like I’m 25, 26 years of age again because I didn’t pick up any injuries over there," he said.
"There’s a lot more running (in Gaelic football) than there is over here… and there is body contact, but it’s not as severe, obviously, because you don’t have to tackle. That’s been the best thing for my body."
"The shoulder’s fantastic and I can’t wait to get a good pre-season under my belt."
The decision to return to Australia wasn't easy an easy one for Kennelly but he said he was excited about his second stint at Sydney.
"There's very little chance that I'm going to go back playing (Gaelic) football again and that was very tough for me. This is probably the toughest decision of the lot," Kennelly said.
"I'm looking forward to the next three months, obviously I've signed a two-year contract and we'll see after that but in the short term it was very, very tough to leave (Ireland)."
"Obviously having a successful year over there was a fairytale really. I'm extremely excited it's like I'm coming to a new club again."
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