Bye bye PA my potato head

[Melbournehammer]

My son has a rather obscure name, years ago at a fan day (he would have been about 4 1/2) he was on the boundary and the players had been going down the line of kids and signing autographs right at the end. All the players were called in and turned to go, my little boy realised he wasn't going to get to say hello to Tadhg, who hadn't come the whole way down the line yet, and called out "Tadhg!" at the top of his voice. Tadhg heard it, turned around and instead of just waving (which would have been kind enough) came over whilst the rest of the players went in and asked my son his name, repeated it perfectly without flinching (usually everyone second guesses themselves the first time!) and then complimented my son on his name and proceeded to chat to him at length.

My son walked out of the ground that day about 10 feet tall, he was so proud- and for a couple of young parents of just about the shyest little kid on earth it was an amazing moment. The significant thing about interactions like this is that whilst it was 5 minutes for Tadhg, for that shy little boy it is something that we do look back on and recall as a big moment in his life; he was so excited that he forgot his shyness and spoke up- then when speaking up he had the positive reinforcement of someone that was (still is!) a hero to him hearing his voice (which is a huge thing for a shy kid in itself) and then coming over and speaking to him. Action/reward. He still was a shy little boy after that, but he grew in confidence immensely from that interaction and from that point on was just that little bit less shy.

I'm grateful to Tadhg for his role in our premiership, I'm eternally grateful to Tadhg for the respect he showed my child- and I'm certain I am not alone on that.

I cannot tell you how much that story pleased me. I have loved watching Tadhg play from the first moment I saw him - his skills were amazing and i remember him playing for Ireland against Australia shortly after that and he could make the round ball talk.

But when a person is actually a person and not just a footballer it means everything.

[Velour&Ruffles]

I agree with Gary Loinchop Lyon that the greatest story in the history of AFL football is Jimmy Stynes. But Tadgh is not too far behind him.

[707]

I remember waiting for his debut all those years ago just wanting Tadgh to make the grade. Well he certainly did that and was one of our most important players for most of our golden era.

Was also rapt for him taking up the challenge of winning an All Ireland and thus continuing the family tradition.

So all in all a fantastic story and by all accounts a great bloke too.

Whilst Tadgh has struggled this year I was pleased to see him get a great SCG farewell. He deserved that.

You are a special part of our family, good luck with whatever you choose to do in life from here.

[wearebloods]

Tadhg gave an impressive keynote address at the AFL's official grand final function.

Full text here => http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226155931421

It's been an incredible adventure for Tadhg and for the fans who have watched him grow as a player and into a man.

I hope retirement does not mean the end of his affiliation with the club or code and is just the beginning of his AFL journey.

I think he would be a great asset in an ongoing development/player welfare role.

[longmile]

Love ya Irish, great speech.
Was always one of my favourite players in our glory years of 05 and 06.
Loved to see him have a run and a kick.
His running goals are like no other.
You'll be missed.