Mayo star casts doubt over playing at home and in AFLW going forward
The All-Ireland Championship and AFLW seasons could overlap in the not too distant future.
Mayo's Sarah Rowe has raised doubts as to whether Irish players will be able to continue to play in the AFLW.
Rowe, who lines out for Collingwood, is one of 33 Irish players currently plying their trade in the competition which, as things stand, gets underway in late August though it is likely to be brought forward next season as the schedule expands. That would make it even more difficult for Irish players who wish to travel down under after their county’s interest in the All-Ireland Championship has ended. This year’s All-Ireland final was played on August 4.
And Rowe admitted that if players are unable to do both, it would be difficult to plump for the AFLW only.
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"Homesickness is a real thing for us, like a really big thing we talk about all the time," she told afl.com.au. "I think (not being able to play Gaelic) would have a massive impact. Girls would question whether they could come out here and commit fully."
Rowe explained how returning to a county set-up after a stint in the AFLW is not straightforward.
"You have to earn the right to be respected back in Ireland, but you can't just do it for a day, you've got to do it every day," she explained. If I was to walk back into a Mayo changing room now, I would not speak until I had done my hard work, until I had built the relationships again.
"I'd be like 'No, I'm starting from scratch again'. So, I'd have to earn that back again, and that's every single time."
She added: "Irish people have massive respect for what the AFLW girls are doing over here. But if you go little picture, and you go into your team environments, you actually have to be really honest and ask, 'How does everyone feel about the fact that I've gone away for a couple of years?'"
"The answer would be disappointed. Great that you're doing well, but we really want you here too, you know? So, there is definitely that push, pull … I think you disappoint a lot of people by not going back for sure."
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