To mark Multicultural Round, collingwoodfc.com.au has spoken to the three Irish Magpies on the club’s list. Marty Clarke is the man most familiar to Collingwood supporters after playing 46 games in the black and white between 2007 and 2009 before returning to Ireland for a two year sabbatical. The two rookies, Paul Cribbin, 20, and Caolan Mooney, 19, have been making big strides while playing for the club’s VFL team and are making good progress in their development.

Caolan Mooney on…

The biggest challenges he’s faced so far…
Learning a new game. The structures would be the toughest thing, and the easiest is probably the ball because you use it every day. The kicking is easier to take to but it doesn’t come off every time.

What he took from his NAB Cup experiences into his VFL matches…
The pace of the game is a lot quicker than what the VFL is, it’s a lot more free flowing. The sort of players you’re playing with like Heath Shaw, ‘Reidy’ and those sorts of players whose skills are more developed than the VFL players also makes a difference.

Kicking five goals against Coburg last Sunday…?
I felt pretty refreshed after the mid-season break in Port Douglas. I went to game with the usual routine, getting up at 8.30, relaxing for a few hours, listening to music before the game, getting a massage and just being excited to get into it. Once the bye came around I wanted to prove a point to Tarkyn Lockyer and Craig McRae (VFL coaches) that I’ve used the break to advantage and that I was there to play and be willing to do the thing for the team. I was able to kick five goals and it was the first time I’ve been in the best so it was pretty good.

Playing as a forward…
Because of my speed, it’s easier to work past opponents they just can’t keep up with you. I’ve been doing a lot of work on set shots and they’ve been paying off. I’ve kicked 16 goals for the season so I’d rather be a forward than a defender chasing after our forwards.

His relationship with Clarke and Cribbin…
I live about 5-10 minutes from Marty’s house. I only really started to know him when he first came home in 2010 and I was actually at a club under 16 presentation night where he was the special guest and I had a chat to him for the first time. When I started to become really good friends was on the flight here in October when we had a chat because the flight was 26 hours from Ireland to Australia.

I met Cribbo once back at home a couple of weeks before he left for his first season. He seemed like a good bloke for first impressions and nothing’s changed. One thing I can’t understand is how much loves his tea - every time I look at him he has a mug in his hands.

His family ties…
My girlfriend is back home; she’s coming out in a couple of weeks. She came out for my first VFL game against Geelong. Mum and Dad have been out; they landed on St Patrick’s Day and they were there to see me kick three goals against Geelong. They wouldn’t really understand the game just yet. One of my brothers is in San Francisco and the other two siblings are back in Ireland.

Living with two fellow youngsters Jamie Elliott and Corey Gault…
Corey just eats everything in sight; he’d eat a loaf of bread a day if he could. It’s good living with them and we recently got a table tennis table so there’s a lot of tension when you lose. I’m the best, Jamie is second and Harmit Singh (the club’s Community Engagement Officer) and Corey would be joint last! I’ve been over to Chris Dawes’ place a bit with Marty. I thought coming over here the senior boys would be more wary of the younger blokes but they’ve been good. Marty’s the best - he’s been thru everything I’m going through now.

Marty Clarke on…

Changes in the game he has noted since returning…
There are a lot more younger players who have really stood up in all teams, but you can see from our own team compared to when I was here last time I was very young, but now I’m in the middle bracket or even in the upper quartile. There hasn’t been a great deal of change. There’s maybe a bit more pressure immediately on the ball but once the ball gets out of the congestion it gives you a bit more time and space, but hasn’t changed a great deal. I haven’t found any difference in the pace of the game. Another difference is that everyone expects to win around here. I was all up and about after my first win since coming back in round two but it was different for everyone else. We used to go through the season 12-10, but its changed a bit now. We appreciate winning but now it’s a mindset.

His relationship with the younger Irish duo…
With Caolan he’s from the same county as me (Down). I would have even coached him at the school I helped out at, St Colmans. He was one of youngest players to play at my county where we played together. For an 18-year-old to play in the GAA is unheard of. Players are mostly 26-27 when they reach that level. He’s very exciting and obviously had a huge future in Gaelic football. He has great pace and was an up and coming star.

What he did back in Ireland…
I was at university doing a teaching course. I was doing coaching around primary schools and GAA games and general sporting activities. It was a great experience for me, my first job as such, and I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I had a bit of an impact on the kids. In the evenings it was playing for down, just playing football. Life away from footy has its moments when it was slightly anti-climactic because of how brilliant it is to be a professional athlete here. Sometimes it’s hard to go home from work to train and when you’re not getting paid to play it can be difficult to train. But there are more positives than negatives, like living a normal life with family and friends and just being a young man without the scrutiny of professional codes. Thankfully this time I’ve got a much lower profile. We have a lot more superstars than when I was in the team previously.

The past players he’s caught up with since returning…
Lica is one, definitely, and it’s great working with Tarks. Shane Wakelin always gives me a call from time to time. I’m still very good friends with Paul Medhurst. Obviously Bucks, Dids, and fellas like Sidey and Beams. A lot’s changed but in many ways it’s still the same with the culture we have.

Paul Cribbin on...

His season so far…
I’ve been going alright and staying injury free. I’m giving myself the chance to play senior footy. I haven’t got there yet but I’m still striving to get there. I feel like I’m improving as the year goes on and I’ve been starting to go into the midfield and I’ve played against guys like Aaron Davey which has been good. I learned a lot from that.

The differences between playing in the AFL and the VFL…
I actually thought the NAB Cup was easier. You’re around better players and the quality of ball you’re getting and when you have the ball the leads you have coming to you are easier to hit. There are also better facilities at Etihad Stadium in comparison to places like Coburg!

His family back at home…
I speak on the phone to them every week and text them every day. They usually text me first and Dad makes sure that I know the Gaelic results back at home.
I have a brother who is over here with me and I’ve got a sister back at home. My brother is 22 and came out on a working visa for a bit of a holiday. He’s been living with me as well so he’s been to a few of the VFL games and has been tracking my progress. He didn’t know all the rules before he came out but quickly picked it up.

The value of having two Irishmen alongside him…
It’s good to talk to someone about Gaelic to change it up a bit from footy and it’s good to chat to a few of the boys about a sport I’ve previously played. We learn a bit about each other from past experience so we bring our own bit to the table.

Being asked to make a speech via video link to his former classmates before the All-Ireland final…
I was asked by my old coach back home, Emmett McDonnell, from St Marys in Edenderry, to talk to the players about my experience back there playing and what I feel is necessary to get the most of our yourself in pressure situations like finals and how to prepare for them and to get the boys going. They ended up winning the All-Ireland, for the first time in the school’s history. They won it easily. Back at school we were beaten in the All-Ireland final but in space of three years we’ve been in two finals and had never been in it before. The school is pretty new but it’s mixed and has only about 350 boys.

The Irish boys challenging each other…
We’ve been challenging each other early on. There are two of us at the top end of the fitness scale so it helped in that regard. I wanted to be the fittest Irish person here. Last year I felt I gave myself a good base to start with and main thing I took out of the year was learning the game and training methods and now it’s a matter of putting it into practice.