Tyrone minor ace Kyle Coney heads off to Australia this afternoon where he will sample the delights of Aussie Rules with Sydney Swans.

The Ardboe teenager is one of the most exciting talents to emerge in recent times and last Saturday was the inspiration for his team’s stunning success in lifting the Tyrone minor championship.

With his team eight points in arrears and facing defeat, the Aussie bound Coney turned the game on its head.

He landed six crucial points from and play and for good measure set up Kieran Robinson’s well executed goal.

Again he proved himself the man for the big occasion just as he has done all season.

In the All Ireland semi-final he was a central figure in the demolition of Meath and it was a similar scenario in the All Ireland replay against Mayo.

Coney has been pursued by a number of AFL clubs for the last two summers and while Sydney Swans won the race for his signature there had been increasing speculation that he might have a change of heart.

There’s no guarantee he will make it in the highly charged and competitive world of the AFL, but one thing is for sure - if he ever decides to turn his back on Australia and swap Bondi Beach for the more familiar surroundings of Lough Neagh, he will be greeted open arms with the real prospect of becoming one of the great attacking talents of his generation.

Coney’s departure comes only days after Ireland winning the International Rules series, led by Cooney’s fellow countyman Sean Cavanagh and it again raises the whole issue of players from here pursuing a career Down Under in the AFL.

Tyrone manager Mickey Harte is vehemently opposed to the In

ternational Rules series while Tyrone captain Sean Cavanagh is one of its biggest advocates.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that the €3.5million grant scheme for GAA players is now under serious threat, before a single euro has been handed out.

It has been revealed that this year’s grants will be cut by at least eight per cent in the coming weeks.

Fears are also growing that the ground-breaking scheme will actually be pulled altogether as part of on-going cuts by the Irish Government.

Earlier this year the Irish Government made a groundbreaking agreement with the GAA and the GPA to pay inter-county grants for the 2008 season, but now it appears that, at best, players will receive a decreased payment and, at worst, they could lose the entire allocation as the world recession continues to bite.

The GPA’s chief executive Dessie Farrell, who was instrumental in securing the grants after a long and hard struggle, said his association was only preparing itself to be hit with an eight per cent cut.

“In the current economic situation we realise there are hard times across the board and we will go along with that, but we’re certainly in no mood to accept any further cut backs,” he said.