SYDNEY Swans defender Tadhg Kennelly says the draft concessions granted to Gold Coast and Western Sydney will result in a flood of Irish recruits joining the AFL.

Despite spending the 2009 season playing Gaelic football with Kerry in Ireland, Kennelly kept a keen eye on the developments with the AFL's two newest teams.

He said that the amateur footballers from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) were an ideal alternative source of talent for the 16 existing clubs.

"There are two new clubs coming into the competition and a lot of the clubs around the country are going to lose draft picks because of concessions," Kennelly said.

"They're going to be looking for the next ready-made talent and I definitely think there's a pool of talent in Ireland that's ready to be tapped into."

Kennelly said the prospect of playing professional sport was the biggest lure for the amateur athletes of the GAA - just as it was when he made the move to Australia a decade ago.

While the relationship between the AFL and the GAA made it harder for some Irish clubs to accept their best players leaving to play Australian football, Kennelly said it was ultimately beneficial for the Irish association.

"When they do come back, they are going to better the game of Gaelic football," he said.

"They'll better the coaching standards and they'll better the football because they've been in a professional environment for so long.

"Other players are going to pick up habits and ideas from those players who have come back and it's going to better the game as a whole."

Just as importantly, Kennelly said an AFL career offered the chance for the best young Irish players to earn financial security.

"I think people are realising it's an opportunity for kids to make a life for themselves," he said.

"Ireland, at the moment, is on its knees. The recession's really hit the country very, very hard. There are people losing homes, people losing their jobs and it's an opportunity for young kids to go and become professional athletes.

"I think people have warmed to it and obviously that's a lot to do with players being successful out here as well.

"In recent times there has been Setanta [O'hAilpin], Martin Clarke, myself; it keeps the game in the limelight at home and people keep an eye on it."

Tadhg Kennelly's new book, Unfinished Business, is available now.