STRADBALLY man Colm Begley made his debut for Aussie Rules outfit the Brisbane Lions on Sunday just nine months after taking up the game. Begley, who won an all-Ireland minor title in 2003, left Ireland in October after helping his club Stradbally to the county senior title. He was expected to spend most of the season on the reserve side learning the game but in early July he was called up to the senior squad. Unfortunately for the youngster he was ruled out of action for several weeks with a quad injury and wasn’t expected to feature this year. But on Sunday night he lined out against table toppers, the West Coast. The Lions have been curtailed with a series of injuries and retirements this year and the game proved to be a baptism of fire for Begley as his team went down 114 - 52. However, the 19-year-old was given the prestigious honour of being the 100th player to tog out for the club in their illustrious history. “He’s a terrific guy,â€? assistant coach John Blakey said after the game. “It’s an unbelievable effort for him to find his way into the senior side. “He’s a great athlete, he runs hard and he can play a number of roles. “ Wing , half-back… we’d have no problems throwing him on to a player like Cousins or Judd and just letting him run around. He’s definitely got the ability to run with these guys.â€? Begley also received words of encouragement from Kerry export Tadhg Kennelly who is playing with the Sydney Swans. He went to watch Begley’s debut and feels they have a lot of similarities. “He only came here last November so it is a drastic rise for him to get on the senior list in his first year,â€? Kennelly said. “I keep in contact with both him and Setanta (” hAilpín) and saw them both at the weekend, I have been through it all, so I have been in touch with them, offering any advice I can give. “Colm is very similar to me. Brisbane have tried to play him on the wing and half-back to get that run. That half-back role that we play here is very similar to a midfielder in Gaelic football when you are running and attacking the ball. He played the same position I played as a Gaelic footballer.â€?

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