SYDNEY Swans coach Paul Roos says he is open to the prospect of Irish defender Tadhg Kennelly resuming his career at the club in 2010.
Kennelly quit the Swans before the start of the 2009 season to pursue his dream of emulating his father, Tim, by winning a Gaelic football All-Ireland title with County Kerry.
The 2005 premiership player remains a chance to achieve his goal at his first attempt, with Kerry to play a semi-final against Meath on Sunday night.
If Kerry wins, Kennelly and his teammates will play Cork in the All-Ireland final on Sunday, September 20.
Roos said he had been keeping an eye on Kennelly’s progress but emphasised that the prospect of the creative half-back resuming his 158-game AFL career remained a long way off.
“When Tadhg made the decision, we made it clear and he also made it clear that he was making the decision to end his career at Sydney,” Roos said on Tuesday.
“If he rang and said ‘Look, I’ve done it, I’ve finished, can we have a chat?’ I’d sit down and talk to him, but there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before that happens.
“Also [it depends on] how his body is and what he expects, how long he wants to play for… but absolutely, I’d speak to him. Whether he plays here next year or not, I couldn’t say that at this stage.”
Roos also said that the Swans were unlikely to spend big dollars to lure a marquee player during the off-season.
The departures of Michael O’Loughlin, Barry Hall, Leo Barry, Jared Crouch, Nic Fosdike and Kennelly have left the Swans with plenty of room in the salary cap for 2010 and beyond.
However, the Swans coach said there appeared to be a lack of big-name players on the market.
“There’s no such thing as free agency and there’s got to be a reason a player leaves [a club]. Generally by now, you know which players might be leaving,” he said.
“We’ll get a couple of quality kids in and we’ll have six, seven or eight spots at the end of the year for some younger players.
“At this stage it’s unlikely we’d be spending too much money on players from other clubs.”
Looking towards Saturday night’s clash against the Brisbane Lions, Roos said premiership players Jarrad McVeigh (hamstring) and Luke Ablett (corked thigh) were pushing for selection to join O’Loughlin, Barry and Crouch in their farewell game.
There will be at least one enforced change after Jarred Moore was ruled out with broken ribs and Roos said the Swans would give McVeigh and Ablett every chance to prove their fitness.
See Tadhg's Kerry take on Meath with the match televised live at CLUB SWANS this Sunday from 11.50pm!
