Conor Nash Interview... 'It's living the dream but it only lasts for so long'

In 2016 Conor Nash went to Australia to pursue a career in Aussie Rules. He's now back in Navan on a break and he spoke to JIMMY GEOGHEGAN about life as a professional in a 'ruthless' environment where the average career is three years

Anybody who visited the Hill of Tara in recent weeks may have met a tall, young man just out for a leisurely walk. Those who know their club football will have recognised him as Conor Nash, the former Simonstown Gaels player, now making a crust in Australian Rules football.

When he's home Nash regularly visits the ancient, historical site that offers a panoramic view of Meath - and far beyond. He loves to walk up around the hill, taking in the view, absorbing it all. There's something about the place that connects with him. It represents home. Meath. Ireland.

"It's a lovely place. I find it beautiful scenery. It's Meath, that's what Tara is to me. Mum and Dad came over (to Australia) this year and brought over a couple of nice prints, aerial photographs of Tara and I have them in my apartment in Melbourne."

When Nash gets a twinge of homesickness he can look at the prints and recall the days when he walked up there - not that he gets much homesickness. He may miss family and friends (and especially his mum's apple crumble which, he says, is to die for) but life is too busy for all that to weigh him down.

It's too full of possibilities as a professional footballer with Hawthorn, one of the top teams in the AFL, Australian Football League; the equivalent of a Chelsea, Liverpool or a Manchester City in the English Premier League.

Nash can hardly believe that he is approaching his seventh season as a pro in the rough and tumble, "ruthless" world of Australian footie. "Crazy" is the word he uses to describe the passing years; the swiftness of it all.

Just 24 years old in July Nash is now an established player in the AFL. While 24 would be considered young in just about any other context it's different in Aussie Rules. He points out he is one of the oldest players in the Hawthorn camp now, almost approaching the veteran stage. That reality too is crazy.

"I see myself as a senior player now. I will be the eighth or ninth oldest at the club next season. Twenty-four is definitely the time to really kick on and start to show more leadership around the club which I have done this year. You realise you are one of the oldest figures, albeit at 24."

He has a contract until 2024. He can't look too far beyond that but maybe that's no bad thing. He points out while living the life of a professional athlete, operating at very high level, can be exhilarating he is also aware he lives and works in an unforgiving world. A world where now is now and tomorrow is a long way off.

"The average career span of AFL players is three years," he adds.

"I've seen lads come in and get dumped out of the system pretty quickly so, yeah, three years is the average career lifespan. The way the game is going the average age a player performs at that level is certainly down on 30 years so you enjoy your good years when you have them. I'm hopefully coming into my prime now as a footballer, 24, 25, so it's exciting.

"I'm lucky in that I haven't had a really proper bout of homesickness. Sure, I've missed events over the years but it's never been this constant, lingering thing in the background, I'm quite lucky in that regard.

"You miss events, but think of what you are doing. I mean it's living the dream but it only lasts for so long. It's only a very short period in somebody's life so it's about making the most of it."

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The son of Tony and Bernadette Nash, Conor grew up in Athlumney Village, Navan with his brother Edward and sister Lauren. He attended St Pat's CS and was quickly picked up as a young man with the talent to be an accomplished footballer - any kind of footballer.

He played Gaelic football on various underage teams with Meath. He was still only a schoolboy when he won a SFC medal with Simonstown Gaels in 2016 shortly before he went to Australia and repeated the feat in 2017 when he was home on a break. He describes those wins "as great days I will never forget."

He turned out for Navan Rugby Club and was capped by Leinster Rugby at u-18 level. He would surely have been fast-tracked into the province's Academy if fate hadn't intervened.

In 2016, out of the clear blue sky, the call came from Down Under. Would he like to join Hawthorn and try his hand as a pro in the Aussie Rules game?

Nash spoke with his family, thought about it and found it too intriguing to resist. Yet it was a big move for a teenager and it wasn't a case of him making an instant splash. It has been a hard slog to get established with plenty of setbacks along the way.

The first year he didn't play with the first team, the second year he got five runouts, third year his career looked to be taking off; he played 14 times. The fourth year, cruel reality hit when he picked up a bad shoulder injury. He had to have the shoulder "reconstructed" and played only two games. He continued on in and out of the team.

Then this year. Bang. He found his niche. He has flourished.

"This year was by far my best year, I played 21 games out of 22," he recalls. He attributes the fact he has blossomed into a clearly accomplished, first team regular, partly because now, finally, he has found his best position. He has played in various positions but inside midfielder looks to be the perfect fit.

"I had to fill as a ruckman out of necessity earlier in the season, now I'm an inside midfielder and wing are two positions I play, basically I'm a midfielder, like in Gaelic football, following the ball around. It's a great position and it has rejuvenated my career and this season I had my best season so far."

FIFTY UP

Just before he returned home for his break Nash notched his 50th appearance for Hawthorn; many of them in the famous MCG, where Meath played back in 1968 during their groundbreaking tour to Australia.

The young Meathman points out that only 10 Irish players have managed to play 50 games in the AFL. "There have been, I think, 65 Irish players who have come down to the AFL over the years and only 10 of them have made it to over 50 AFL games - but in one way it's nothing special. It's when you reach 100 games you can start saying I've had a decent career."

That quote points to the ambition and drive that has fueled Nash. He operates in a dog-eat-dog, highly competitive world.

Some might have given up the ghost by now and returned to the comforts of home and the soothing, calming view from the top of Tara. Not this young man.

He has shown the mental fortitude that's required to stay the course; the half century of appearances proves that.

"It's a ruthless industry and you can fall out of favour pretty quickly, it's all about staying ahead of the game, improving, because it is a ruthless business and it is a business at the end of the day. The club is in the business of winning games and the pressure to do that really comes on during the season."

To keep "ahead of the game" Nash continues to train assiduously even during these days when he is home on 'holidays'.

Anybody driving around Athlumney may have spotted him going for a jog around the area. He will go for runs in Simonstown or for a sauna session in Bective. There's gym work to be done. It's about finding a balance between work and rest - and knowing your body.

"In other jobs you can book a holiday and leave whenever you want but when we are on a break you need to keep things going because if you stop you will suffer in the long term and personally my body likes continuity. If I stop for too long it just seizes up and I get niggles. When I'm on holiday I enjoy it, but I enjoy training also."

The club furnish him with advice on the kind of food he should eat but he doesn't feel the need to be too obsessed about what he consumes either - especially when it comes to his love of chocolate and his mother's apple crumple.

Looking to the future, to the days when he is no longer a celebrity footballer with Hawthorn, Nash is engaged in doing a part-time university course in commerce. In the meantime his is loving life in Melbourne where he lives with his girlfriend Grace Ireland (a 100 per cent Aussie despite her name).

While he clearly loves coming home, to see family, friends, and visits to Tara, he also looks forward to returning Down Under - and the unforgiving yet exhilarating, richly rewarding life of a professional footballer.