Anton_Tohill

Anton Tohill

Anton Tohill

Australian rules football player

Anton Tohill (born 14 December 1999) is a Gaelic footballer and former Australian rules football player. He plays for the Swatragh club, the Derry county team and, formerly, for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

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AFL career

In December 2017, Tohill participated in a European AFL Combine in Dublin[1] and the following month flew to an AFL Academy camp in Florida.[2] Later in the year he joined Collingwood as a Category B rookie after finishing 12th in kicking at the AFL Draft Combine,[3] signing a two-year contract.[4] In the 2019 AFL season, he suffered a concussion, a quad injury, and a torn hip rotator, which limited his playing time.[5] He managed to play 12 games in the Victorian Football League (VFL), deployed as a key forward and playing in the ruck.[6] His preparation for the 2020 AFL season was limited due to getting injured after falling on a treadmill and the season was reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, with the 2020 VFL season being cancelled.[5] In December 2020, at the end of his initial contract, he signed a one-year extension.[7] Tohill impressed in the 2021 VFL season, playing as a defender.[8] He made his debut at Marvel Stadium against Port Adelaide in the club's round 19 match of the 2021 AFL season,[9] which Collingwood lost by 28 points.[10] In August 2021, Tohill retired from Australian rules football after turning down a one-year contract extension and returned to Northern Ireland to study medicine at Queen's University Belfast.[5][11]

GAA career

Tohill made his senior inter-county debut for Derry on 7 January 2022 as a late substitute for Shea Downey in Derry's opening game of the 2022 Dr McKenna Cup against Monaghan.[12] He made another substitute appearance against Fermanagh in Derry's next game in the competition.[13] Derry qualified for the semi-final, losing to Donegal, though Tohill scored a point in that game.[14]

Tohill was still involved when Derry won the 2022 Ulster Senior Football Championship later that year.[15]

Tohill's athleticism was credited with helping his club Swatragh defeat Bellaghy in the last 16 of the 2022 Derry Senior Football Championship in September that year.[16][17] Swatragh qualified for a quarter-final against Slaughneil, scheduled for 1 October.[18] Slaughtneil won and advanced to the semi-final, knocking out Swatragh.[19]

Personal life

Tohill was born in Swatragh in Northern Ireland.[9] His father, Anthony, played Gaelic football and international rules football, as well as playing Australian rules football with Melbourne.[3] One of the players Anthony had played against was Collingwood's interim coach Robert Harvey.[20]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season[21]
Legend
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More information Season, Team ...

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. [1]
    Austin, Cathal (12 December 2017). "Three GAA stars earn AFL shot but exodus of Irish talent is unlikely, says talent manager". Irish Mirror.
  2. [2]
    O'Toole, Fintan (21 March 2018). "Down's Clarke recruited by AFL as part of plans to prioritise Ireland in search of players for Aussie Rules". The42.
  3. [3]
    "Pies lock in Irish youngsters". Collingwood. Telstra. 16 October 2018.
  4. [4]
    "Derry legend Anthony Tohill's teenage son Anton has signed a two-year deal with AFL side Collingwood". Irish Independent. 15 October 2018.
  5. [5]
    Brosnan, Maurice (26 August 2021). "Derry native departs AFL club Collingwood and returns home to study medicine". The42.
  6. [6]
    Guthrie, Ben (2 April 2020). "Anton not making a mountain out of a Tohill". AFL Players Association.
  7. [7]
    "Son of Derry legend Anthony Tohill signs new AFL contract with Collingwood". The42. 8 December 2020.
  8. [8]
    Mulcahy, Patrick (21 July 2021). "Anton Tohill, son of Derry GAA great Anthony, selected for Aussie Rules debut". Irish Examiner.
  9. [9]
    Ó Meiscill, Pádraig (22 July 2021). "Anton Tohill set to make his AFL debut for Collingwood". The Irish News.
  10. [10]
    Schmook, Nathan (23 July 2021). "Power forwards fire on Boak's big night". Australian Football League. Telstra.
  11. [11]
    Mulcahy, Patrick (27 August 2021). "Anton Tohill leaving Aussie Rules to pursue studies, Collingwood confirm". Irish Examiner.
  12. [12]
    "Dr McKenna Cup: Donegal edge past youthful Down as Derry draw with Monaghan". BBC Sport. 7 January 2022. Anton Tohill, son of Derry legend Anthony Tohill, was among those handed debuts by Rory Gallagher as he was introduced late on for Shea Downey, whose father Seamus was a team-mate of the Swatragh great on the Oak Leaf county's 1993 All-Ireland winning side.
  13. [13]
    "Gaelic Football round-up: Derry see off Fermanagh to set up McKenna Cup semi-final with Donegal". Independent.ie. 15 January 2022.
  14. [14]
    "Monaghan defeat Armagh on penalties and Donegal see off Derry in semi-final clashes". The42.ie. 18 January 2022. Derry hit the final three points of the game through Lachlan Murray (2) and Anton Tohill but Donegal held on for success.
  15. [15]
    Bogue, Declan (20 June 2022). "Rory Gallagher has been the key to transformation of Derry as they close in on first All-Ireland title since 1993". Belfast Telegraph. Anton Tohill followed in the footsteps of his father by going over to Australia for a spell, and while he got very limited game time in his three seasons with Collingwood, he lived the life of an athlete for three years.
  16. [16]
    Loughran, Neil (20 September 2022). "'I've been learning to play the game again': Anton Tohill relishing second coming with Swatragh and Derry". The Irish News.
  17. [17]
    "Draws for 2022 football championship knockouts". Derry GAA. 13 September 2022.
  18. [18]
    "Slaughtneil --- v --- Swatragh". 1 October 2022. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022.
  19. [19]
    McMullan, Michael (3 October 2022). "Polished performance sees Slaughtneil into Derry SFC semi-final". The Irish News.
  20. [20]
    Colangelo, Anthony (21 July 2021). "Pies to debut two in clash with Port Adelaide". The Age. Harvey has actually played international rules against Tohill's father, Anthony, who was captain of Ireland in the '90s.
  21. [21]
    "Anton Tohill statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
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