Anton Tohill Biography

Anton Tohill makes his AFL debut for Collingwood at Docklands Stadium with 9 disposals (4 kicks and 5 handballs) and 3 marks in a 28-point loss to Port Adelaide.

Six players in Ireland will return to Australia this weekend to resume their AFL careers after winning visa approval to re-enter the country.

Collingwood pair Mark Keane and Anton Tohill, Essendon duo Cian McBride and Ross McQuillan, Brisbane's James Madden, and Greater Western Sydney's Callum Brown are all set to jet back to Australia on Saturday.

The group headed back to Ireland once the AFL announced its shutdown plans in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Conor McKenna and his Bombers teammates Ross McQuillan and Cian McBride, as well as Magpies duo Anton Tohill and Mark Keane, and Giants youngster Callum Brown, are among a handful of players who have either returned to Ireland or are expected to imminently as the COVID-19 crisis continues to accelerate worldwide.

Collingwood Irish recruit Anton Tohill says he is unsure whether the proposal for Irish county clubs to receive compensation for losing players to AFL clubs is a necessary step.

"I've grown up playing a few sports. I played soccer and Gaelic football, so who do you compensate?" Tohill said.

"Then can you really say that it was all me going to the Gaelic football club that's brought me in considering that it was me doing my own work and preparing myself in the gym, knowing that the club was pushing me to work hard.

"I think it has to be thought out if there was any form of compensation."

Collingwood has wasted little time in getting Irish recruits Anton Tohill and Mark Keane settled into professional life in Australia, putting them through a light skills session on their first day at the club.

"Their kicking, their handball and marking looks pretty sound at the moment, although just getting used to our ball is a challenge for them," Magpies head of academy Tarkyn Lockyer said.

"The boys don't get a huge amount of contact in the Gaelic game so we'll have to teach them the rules about how you can use your body and your hands in marking contests.

"From a competitive point of view, both boys look like they're willing to have a crack so that doesn't look like that's going to be too much of an issue."

Collingwood sign Irish 18-year olds Mark Keane and Anton Tohill as Category B rookies.

"Mark and Anton will really add to our developing key-position depth," Collingwood's national recruiting manager Derek Hine said.

"They are different to each other in the manner in which they play. Anton has the makings of a tall utility who will be capable at both ends of the ground, with the potential to play minutes in the ruck.

"Mark is very strong overhead and has natural game sense. We can see him playing as a key forward or key defender."

Irish prospects Anton Tohill and Mark Keane believe they've shown enough to deserve a spot on an AFL list, and several clubs are interested in signing the promising duo.

After impressing at the Dublin Combine last December and at the AFL Academy's camp in Florida in January, the youngsters earned an invitation to this week's NAB AFL Draft Combine, and produced impressive results.

"Footy is for me, I want to give it a good crack. I want to do the best I can and do whatever I can to play professional footy," Tohill said.

"My parents hadn't heard much about the AFL when I was first approached, so they were a bit shocked (when the AFL approached me), but they want what's best for me and this is what I want to do," Keane said.