“Thrown in the deep end.”

“Sink or swim.”

They’re old sporting clichés but perfect examples of how Irish recruit Colin O’Riordan has gone about his first season in the AFL.

And he’s swum with the best of them.

O’Riordan’s first eight months at the Sydney Swans, in Sydney, in Australia, away from family and friends back home in the small Irish dwelling of Templemore, has been a whirlwind.

Selected in November as an international rookie, O’Riordan arrived a month later and was thrown right in the thick of a gruelling pre-season campaign, under the sapping heat of an Australian summer, all the while trying to find his own two feet in a foreign land a long way from Country Tipperary.

But, looking back on the journey so far, the 20-year-old wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“You don’t really have much of a choice but to put your head down when you arrive right in the middle of pre-season,” O’Riordan said.

“There’s no room for backing off so you just have to keep working hard. If you’re feeling tired, you can’t feel sorry yourself, you just have to get on with it.

“Looking back, that was the best thing for me. You go to points and places you never thought were physically go. But when you get over those hurdles it’s massive for your own mentality more than anything.

“I have learned so much already and all I want to do is keep learning more, about the game and the Australian culture.”

Going from knowing very little of Australian Rules Football, to being hurled into the often demanding AFL system, has been a steep learning curve but he’s embraced the challenges with a vigour and hunger reminiscent of a fellow countryman who carved a glittering career with the red and white.

That same player, among others, has also helped with O’Riordan’s transition from a Gaelic footballer at the top of his game to an environment where it’s either make or break.

“Tadhg (Kennelly) has been an inspiration,” O’Riordan said.

“I have nothing but good words to say about him. He’s a legend in my eyes. He’s been giving me tips and tricks along the way.

“It’s good to have someone close to call and ask a question. It sounds simple but for someone in my position it’s massive.”

The beauty about the Swans, O’Riordan mentions, is that you don’t have to go very far for guidance.

 “The biggest thing was coming into the club and everyone being so welcoming.

“The first night I arrived there was 15 lads out for dinner which was huge for me. It’s easy to come into a side with so many leaders around the place too.

“And living with Aliir (Aliir) and Tom (Papley), they’ve played a big part in helping me settle.

“Makes for a good story, that an Irishman, a South Sudanese and an Australian are all living under the one roof.”