Excitement in Mitchelstown as Cork man set for AFL debut at 20

20 years old and making progress fast.

It was just two years ago, as an 18-year-old, when Mitchelstown's Mark Keane made his move Down Under to sign for Collingwood FC but the former Cork minor and under-20 star hasn't been slow to make a name for himself on the far side of the world. On Sunday, the former Rebel midfielder will make his debut for Collingwood in their AFL Round nine clash against Fremantle, having been told the news at a team meeting on Friday. Keane took the news in his stride with head coach Nathan Buckley confident in his abilities and insistent that he has earned his chance. "Well done buddy," said Buckley. "We need your aerial, we need your strength and we just want you to express yourself to the play mate." https://twitter.com/CollingwoodFC/status/1289078542446129153 It wasn't long before those in Mitchelstown were waking up to the positive news and it's fair to say that some of them, Keane's mother in particular, are excited to see their man in action. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1289096289519579136 Keane was a highly rated underage footballer in Cork and was part of the under-20 team who lost the Munster final to Kerry in 2018. Congratulations Mark.