Zach Tuohy celebrates Geelong triumph with touching homage to his roots as he becomes only the third Irishman to win an AFL Grand Final
- Zach Tuohy paid homage to his roots during the Grand Final celebrations
- The defender held up a Portlaoise GAA flag, the club he played for in Ireland
- He grew up in Portlaoise in County Laois and played for town and county teams
- The 32-year-old was recruited by Carlton and made his AFL debut in 2011
- He signed for the Cats in 2017 and played in 2020 AFL Grand Final
- REPORT: Geelong thrash Sydney by 81 points to end 11-year wait for the flag
Zach Tuohy paid homage to his roots as he celebrated Geelong’s Grand Final triumph against Sydney on Saturday.
The Irish star was spotted holding a green and white flag reading ‘Come on the town’ following the Cats’ 20.13 (133) to 8.4 (52) shellacking of the Swans at the MCG.
The colours are those of Portlaoise GAA, the club Tuohy played for in the Republic of Ireland before making the switch to AFL in 2011.
Zach Tuohy starred as the Cats demolished Sydney in the Grand Final on Saturday
‘Great to see Zac Tuohy flying the Portlaoise GAA flag on Grand Final day,’ the club tweeted.
Portlaoise is the county town – the most important town or city in a given county in the United Kingdom and Ireland – of County Laois in Leinster, one of the Republic’s three provinces.
Tuohy was born and raised in Portlaoise and became a regular of Laois junior teams, winning the Leinster Minor Football Championship in 2007.
Two years later, the defender switched Gaelic football for Aussie rules after being recruited by Carlton and made his AFL debut in 2011.
Tuohy held up the Portaloise flag, the Irish town he was born and grew up in
His former club noticed the homage and shared a picture of his tribute on Twitter
The 32-year-old finished with 17 disposals as the Cats destroyed Sydney at the MCG
Tuohy is only the second Irishman after Tadhg Kennelly to win the AFL Grand Final
After playing 120 games in five years for the Blues, Tuohy signed for Geelong in 2017, for whom he has since amassed 147 appearances kicking 47 goals.
The 32-year-old was on the losing side as the Cats were hammered by 31 points by Richmond in the 2020 Grand Final, but atoned for the disappointment on Saturday finishing with 17 disposals.
The second-ever Irishman to play at least 200 AFL games after the late great Jim Stynes, Tuohy and Cats teammate Mark O’Connor are the only men born on the Emerald Isle to win the AFL Grand Final after Tadhg Kennelly.
The latter won the flag when the Swans beat West Coast by four points to end a 72-year wait for a premiership in 2005 and is the only player to have won both the AFL Grand Final and a Senior-All Ireland Championship in his career.
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