There have been religious zealots who have shown less patience in waiting for the Second Coming than Mayo fans have in the pursuit of an All-Ireland, and this week brings the latter more accursed hope ahead of the 2018 championship.
The Irish Times is reporting that 21-year-old Cian Hanley has returned home from the AFL and has resumed training with Stephen Rochford's side. Hanley has spent the last three years with Brisbane Lions in the AFL, where he failed to make an impact owing to injury. Before he joined the club, he tore his ACL in the All-Ireland minor semi-final against Kerry and ultimately missed the 2015 season with that injury The 2016 season was then curtailed by a groin injury, and Hanley spent some time at home last year on compassionate leave as his 16-year-old brother Tommy tragically passed away after a battle with cancer.
Brisbane elected not to offer Hanley a new contract ahead of the 2018 season.
Hanley, whose elder brother Pearce is also in the AFL with Gold Coast, has now catapulted himself into senior training with Mayo, although it is reported that he is unlikely to feature against Dublin in the National League this weekend.
Hanley was a member of the All-Ireland-winning minor team of 2013, and in his time in Australia has seen Stephen Coen, Diarmuid O'Connor, and Conor Loftus make the step up to senior level.
Hanley lined out at centre-half-forward on that minor team (although he missed the final through injury).
General consensus dictates that Mayo need to find another high-class, scoring forward to nudge them past Dublin, so is Hanley the answer?
