'Living with Mark, he's been a huge help': Kerry's Cillian Burke settling in Down Under
Cillian Burke surprised some people at Geelong with his first goal for the club in a VFL match against Gold Coast Suns on Sunday. Just before half-time, in what was his debut in Geelong colours, the Kerry native struck a left-footed shot from a tight angle through the posts to the delight of his teammates. Burke had been battling a knee injury since joining the club.
"I'm naturally right-legged so a lot of people have been saying it to me, they didn't know I had that in my left leg," Burke said in an interview with Geelong's in-house media team.
"In rehab we kind of do a lot of stuff down that pocket so we've been most days kind of having fun kicking them.
"I was delighted to get out there. It's been a while since I've played anything really, it's been about 10 months. I was nervous really, anxious to get out there of course and a bit of nervous energy.
"The lads helped me a lot and everyone in the club really just made it easy to go out there. They put no pressure on you and just tell you to express yourself which is good."
Burke made his debut on a rain-soaked day which made handling the ball tricky. Though, in some ways, he felt the wet conditions made it easier for him.
"It makes the ball a lot more slippy, it was like a bar of soap, dropped it a few times," he said.
"It's made it a bit easier as well because it kind of takes the pressure off me. The game is a bit more contest and scrappy which made it easier for me, you just kind of have to throw yourself in there and get stuck in which is good."
Burke was one of the few bright sparks for the Kerry seniors last year, making his move to Australia particularly painful for the Kingdom. At Geelong, he joined fellow Kerryman Mark O'Connor and Mayo's Oisín Mullin. Both are now firmly established senior players while Kate Kenny, Aishling Moloney, Rachel Kearns and Anna-Rose Kennedy are part of the club's AFLW squad.
"Living with Mark, he's been a huge help," said Burke. "They make you feel at home here and make you feel comfortable. Having that person to talk to who's went through the same experiences and both of them doing so well, they certainly know what they're doing and doing the right things.
"Listening to them has been great help on in the pitch and off the pitch as well, even things that aren't related to footy, they just help a lot which is good."
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
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Burke learning to listen to management when being withdrawn from games
On the last occasion Graham Burke won player of the month, it marked a springboard for his return to England. Soon he was in the Ireland squad and a €300,000 signing for Preston North End but he's just as satisfied receiving the award again as a homebird. Burke's four goals in three games were instrumental in regaining top spot for Shamrock Rovers. He's heading for his 32nd birthday without having any pang of fleeing his happy place. He's back in Ireland six years but his body hasn't always allowed him to excel. An historic run to the playoff stage of the Uefa Conference League last year was largely achieved without Burke being a centrepiece. Frustration gripped him but negativity isn't exclusive to that emotion. Branded a maverick by his manager Stephen Bradley, the playmaker can be at his angriest after scoring goals. At least nowadays the manager doesn't have to wrap him in cotton wool. 'The last two years was a cycle of getting games, then injury, rehab and trying to come back and get up to speed,' he lamented. 'Maybe I'd get back into the team but after every four or five games I'd end up back with the physio. 'Even around Europe last year, it was a disappointing time to get a knock. 'I only started one of the group stage games against Larne. Luckily, I've managed to stay healthy. Bradley explained the science behind Burke's physiology: 'Graham is in incredible condition but there's more detail to it - his stress load goes through his calves and hamstrings with how he runs and plays, everything is explosive. 'He'll will cover the same explosive distances as Neil Farrugia which people wouldn't think. 'When you build that up over a period of time it becomes a problem.' Those problems have subsided in conjunction with Burke's presence. Sometimes trusting his manager to prioritise his welfare by taking him off isn't easy. 'There's no badness in it,' he says about his frequent gestures when his number is raised at the halfway line. 'That's who I am - just a frustration thing of mine. 'Once I come off, I'm fine. Listen, I think I'm at a different stage of my career too, I'm 32 coming up and things like that. I have to know myself that I'm probably not going to play as much as I want to, or as long as I want to (in games). I need to listen to the manager. 'Day-to-day I'm quite chill and quite relaxed. I know myself, there's certain times I can switch and have a mad 10 seconds of madness or five seconds of madness. 'But when I leave the football pitch, I'm quite calm. We all have flaws at times and that's probably a little flaw I have.' Leaders against champions at Tolka Park near his local neighbourhood is his next stage to perform. Victory over Damien Duff's side would open up a 12-point buffer back to the Reds side yet to click in their title defence. He said: 'We don't really look at what's going on elsewhere but Shels had a fantastic season last year. 'They deservedly won the league and credit to them but we've hit a run of results and want to continue our form.'
The 42
6 hours ago
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Rovers striker Burke and Treaty teenager McGuane named Players of the Month
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Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
'Living with Mark, he's been a huge help': Kerry's Cillian Burke settling in Down Under
Cillian Burke surprised some people at Geelong with his first goal for the club in a VFL match against Gold Coast Suns on Sunday. Just before half-time, in what was his debut in Geelong colours, the Kerry native struck a left-footed shot from a tight angle through the posts to the delight of his teammates. Burke had been battling a knee injury since joining the club. "I'm naturally right-legged so a lot of people have been saying it to me, they didn't know I had that in my left leg," Burke said in an interview with Geelong's in-house media team. "In rehab we kind of do a lot of stuff down that pocket so we've been most days kind of having fun kicking them. "I was delighted to get out there. It's been a while since I've played anything really, it's been about 10 months. I was nervous really, anxious to get out there of course and a bit of nervous energy. "The lads helped me a lot and everyone in the club really just made it easy to go out there. They put no pressure on you and just tell you to express yourself which is good." Burke made his debut on a rain-soaked day which made handling the ball tricky. Though, in some ways, he felt the wet conditions made it easier for him. "It makes the ball a lot more slippy, it was like a bar of soap, dropped it a few times," he said. "It's made it a bit easier as well because it kind of takes the pressure off me. The game is a bit more contest and scrappy which made it easier for me, you just kind of have to throw yourself in there and get stuck in which is good." Burke was one of the few bright sparks for the Kerry seniors last year, making his move to Australia particularly painful for the Kingdom. At Geelong, he joined fellow Kerryman Mark O'Connor and Mayo's Oisín Mullin. Both are now firmly established senior players while Kate Kenny, Aishling Moloney, Rachel Kearns and Anna-Rose Kennedy are part of the club's AFLW squad. "Living with Mark, he's been a huge help," said Burke. "They make you feel at home here and make you feel comfortable. Having that person to talk to who's went through the same experiences and both of them doing so well, they certainly know what they're doing and doing the right things. "Listening to them has been great help on in the pitch and off the pitch as well, even things that aren't related to footy, they just help a lot which is good."
