FORMER CORK FOOTBALLER Ciaran Sheehan is set to make his AFL debut with Carlton next weekend.

23 year-old Sheehan has made rapid progress in his Australian Rules career since moving to Melbourne last January.

He has been in action for the VFL outfit Northern Blues and has impressed in the 14 games he played. Now he has been fast-tracked to the senior list as a replacement for the injured Andrew Walker.

Carlton are at home at the Etihad Stadium against the Gold Coast Suns next Saturday. They are currently 13th on the 18-team AFL ladder and have three games left after Saturday’s Round 2o clash.

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Northern Blues coach Luke Webster told the official Carlton website that Sheehan has worked hard and earned his opportunity.

“Ciaran is the one, out of all our first year guys, who has played the most amount of footy,” Webster said.

“He started the year learning to play as a forward, and then swung around and learned to play as a backman, and he has adapted to that really well.

“One of his biggest assets is his speed – and he’s defending the ball really well and also makes good decisions once he gets his hands on the footy.”

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Sheehan previously spent four weeks during the summer of 2009 training with Carlton but opted not to sign with them full-time, citing homesickness as a key factor in his decision to return to pursue a career in the GAA.

He is one of three Irish players currently involved with the club along with Zach Tuohy of Laois and Ciaran Byrne of Louth.

But he caught the eye with his displays for Ireland in last year’s International Rules series and subsequently made the move to Carlton.

During his Gaelic football career Sheehan won an All-Ireland senior medal with Cork in 2010 and an All-Ireland U21 medal in 2009.

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