Irish warriors Paul Hogan and Patrick Smith have been announced as the first retained player’s for the Northern Sun’s for the 2021 AFL New Zealand Premiership, starting February 14th next year.
Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan has been a star defender in his first two seasons for the Northern Suns.
Normally positioned at Centre Half Back, Hogan is very fit and mobile and reads the game well and has been named in the Premiership Team of the Year in both 2019 and 2020.
The 2019 Northern Suns Best and Fairest winner plays for the Eastern Blues in the Canterbury AFL has a background in Gaelic Football.
A strong mark and a great attitude are Paul’s best attributes and he will be hard to stop in defence in 2021.
Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith was taken at pick 1 in last year’s draft and was a star in his first season.
The 2020 club best and fairest winner was consistent in every game and showed his experience when it mattered.
Patrick was a county star with Cavan in his native Ireland from age 14, playing for 10 years as a specialist midfielder and half back.
Smith moved to Melbourne at 24 and quickly found his feet playing for Mordialloc FC in the Southern Football League.
Patrick takes a hard nosed no nonsense approach to his game style and is a key asset in 2021.
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