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04th Nov 2021

All-Star Oisín Mullin moving to the AFL is a huge blow for the GAA, but Mayo will manage without him

Lee Costello

“If they lost Tommy Conroy or Ryan O’Donoghue, would that be a bigger loss for them?”

The 2020 Young Player of The Year, Oisín Mullin seems destined to leave the harsh winter of Ireland and bask in the warm rays of sunny Australia.

The Kilmaine man is reported to be signing for AFL club Geelong on a two-year contract as an international rookie.

At only 21-years of age, the bolstering back is already a huge part of the Mayo set-up, quickly identifying himself to be one of the key men in James Horan’s side.

Without stating the obvious, he will be a huge miss for his club and county, but the green and red of Mayo might be able to cope in his absence better than you may think.

Speaking on the GAA Hour, Colm Parkinson raised the point that, Mayo are particularly strong in that position as it is.

Oisín Mullin

“Obviously he’s a huge loss, I love watching him, he doesn’t know anything but 100 miles going straight up the field, he’s exciting when gets his hands on the ball, he wants to make things happen.

“He’s an antidote to the boring sideways football we have seen, he is just direct, and everything is 100 miles an hour.

“I was thinking though, if Mayo wanted to lose anyone, they would lose a defender, because they have so many of them.

Oisín Mullin

“They still have Padraig O’Hora, Brendan Harrison, Lee Keegan as a possible full back line, with Enda Hession there as a fort.

“In the half-back line, they have Paul Durcan, Stephen Coen, and Eoghan McLaughlin, and Hession can cover the half-back line as well.

“The point I’m trying to make is that Mayo’s problem is not in defence, it’s in attack. I’m wondering if they lost Tommy Conroy or Ryan O’Donoghue, would that be a bigger loss for them?”

Oisín Mullin

Niall McIntyre was also on the show, and referenced the fact that Mayo didn’t even have Mullin for the entirety of this year.

“They were missing Oisín Mullin for the Dublin game, Enda Hession came in and did a similar sort of a job, he was nearly one of the breakthrough players of the year.

“He just picked up where Oisín Mullin left off.”

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