Kennelly to call time on Rules career

Kerry's Tadhg Kennelly is to quit Aussie Rules Football at the end of the season.

The Sydney Swans player informed his team-mates of the decision at a meeting on Thursday morning. He said he had been contemplating his decision for several weeks and it felt right.

Speaking on the Swans website, the Listowel native said: "I’ve had an incredible career since arriving in Australia as a teenager. I couldn’t have asked for more, but now I feel the time is right to move on to the next phase of my career. I hope to still be involved in the AFL in some capacity, whether coaching or media," Kennelly said.

"I’ve been here nearly half my life and want to thank the club for instilling such strong morals and values into not just my football life but my everyday life."

Kennelly won an AFL Premiership with the Sydney Swans in 2005, five years after arriving at the club as a rookie draft selection.

In 2009 he returned to Ireland, where he was part of the Kerry team that won the All-Ireland title, defeating Cork in the final.