St Kilda has continued its pursuit of alternative talent acquisition, signing Irish pair Darragh Joyce and Ray Connellan as international rookies ahead of the 2017 season.

Joyce, 19, is a hurler from Kilkenny who is a former All Ireland Minor Champion, while Connellan, 22, is a Gaelic football player from Westmeath who was part of Ireland’s International Rules series squad in 2015.

Both players had been on the Saints’ radar for more than a year, having attended the Irish Combine in Dublin last season, as well as the AFL Academy camp in Tampa Bay, Florida earlier this year, before spending three weeks at Linen House Centre in June.

St Kilda List and Recruiting Manager Tony Elshaug expressed his delight at securing the highly rated Irish pair, suggesting that their recruitment increased the Saints talent base as the club builds towards a second premiership.

“We’re thrilled to add Ray and Darragh to our list. They’re both great athletes and great people and their signatures are in line with our list management strategy because quite simply we want to increase our talent base,” Elshaug told saints.com.au on Friday.

“They’ve displayed the athleticism, the character, and within that character the application to do what we’ve asked them to do. We think they’ve got the capacity, both physically and mentally, to successfully transfer to our game.

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“They’ve been impressive with everything they’ve done, from how they performed at the different combines to the way they trained with the AFL Academy in Florida. They’re two outstanding people that we can’t wait to have at our club.

“All of the process was very thorough to get to know them and to find out whether or not they’d be able to apply themselves. It’s not an easy gig to front up every day and do the work, and not only do the work but do it to a high standard. But we’re confident we’ve got two young men who are ready to give it their all.”

The signature of Connellan and Joyce follows recent international recruits Jason Holmes from the United States and New Zealand pair Joe Baker-Thomas and Barclay Miller.

Ahead of the Irish pair’s arrival in October, Elshaug explained how a wide section of the football club had been involved in their development so far, something which will occur again when they return to Seaford.

“At the end of the day this is a whole of club approach to give these players a chance to succeed,” Elshaug said.

“It’s Alan Richardson from a football development sense, Lindsay Gilbee for skill acquisition, Peta Searle with decision making, Alison Miles for nutrition, Marcus Krygger and Matt Hornsby for strength and conditioning and Tony Brown from a welfare perspective.

“It’s definitely not down to one person or one department, it’s a cross-section of the club all playing their part.”

Elshaug lauded the involvement of Saints Pro Scout Wayne Hughes and Senior Coach Alan Richardson, with both playing significant roles for varying reasons. He also praised the playing group who welcomed the Irishmen with open arms.

“‘Richo’ has embraced this approach from the word go and the ripple effect of having the senior coach do that is infectious,” Elshaug said.

“He’s had some positive experience with Irish players, he’s been over there previously, working alongside Wayne Hughes who has been instrumental in this whole process.

“‘Hughesy’ has a wealth of experience with Irish recruits and did so much work over the last year getting this done.

“And the players, they were fantastic throughout Darragh and Ray’s time at the club. Eli [Templeton] and Nathan [Wright] took them into their homes and looked after them both. It really was a whole of club approach.”

Like a lot of Irish recruits, it is expected that the pair will be groomed as running defenders, potentially in the mould of Brisbane’s Pearce Hanley and Carlton pair Zach Tuohy and Ciaran Byrne. With their size and combination of speed and endurance, the pair loom as an enthralling story in the history of St Kilda.