It's safe to say Zach Tuohy hasn't looked back since going sleeveless in 2007, abandoning a fledgling career playing football for Laois for a professional career playing Aussie Rules in Melbourne.
After nearly a decade with the Carlton Blues, Tuohy signed for Geelong this season and things have seemingly only got better since. Only last month, he made headlines with this massive strike against Port Adelaide.
But Tuohy's success has been no fluke and last weekend he surpassed 100 consecutive AFL games, a feat that only two other current players have bettered.
Zach Tuohy is now on 101 consecutive AFL games. Only Sam Gibson and Nathan Jones have more, though no-one is ever catching Jim Stynes' 244
— Daragh Ó Conchúir (@RebelDevil71) June 11, 2017
Tuohy jumped ship to the Geelong Cats last January having not been happy with the contract offered by Carlton, and 10 games into the campaign with his new team the fans have been taking to him.
He is the best kick on side according to Danger, great effort and shows it can be taught at mature age, reflects badly on local players
— BernieMcI (@BernieMcInerney) June 12, 2017
Great to see @zach2e's magnificent season finally recognised - staggered he has only made the mid-season AA teams of a couple of 'experts.'
— Kathryn Kernohan (@kathrynkernohan) June 11, 2017
Along with the fans, the media have been getting on board the Tuohy train with AFL journalist Damien Barrett describing the Geelong signing as "an Irish experiment that gets an A+" in his column on the League's website.
Geelong insiders have been in awe of Zach Tuohy's impact in 2017.
Tuohy's impact at the Cats goes beyond his numbers. His work in the backline has helped the always-important Andrew Mackie to return to near-career best form, and has also assisted Tom Stewart to ease himself with aplomb into his debut AFL season.
Of 89 "general" defenders (not key-position players) who have played five or more matches this season, Tuohy ranks fifth for overall disposals (27), seventh for metres gained (485m), and eighth for score involvements (six).
Tuohy is the only general defender in the top eight in all three of the above categories, as compiled by Champion Data.
Tuohy's praise hasn't just stopped at journalists and fans, his teammate Patrick Dangerfield has also weighed in of late expressing his surprise that the Irish man could play at such a high standard despite only taking up the sport in 2007.
He's been playing the game for 10 years and he's the best kick in our side, which is unbelievable when you think about it, but he has been a huge addition to our side.
He's really good overhead, reads the ball well, and to have those ball winners and ball users across half back, it is crucial to starting those scoring chains.
It's great to see Tuohy following in the footsteps of Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly, two legends of the game. His impact was impressive at Carlton, but it seems now at Geelong, people are starting to take notice of the Laoisman's talents and hopefully the rapid rise continues.
