Does the AFL calendar mean Finnbarr Roarty can’t emulate Kobe McDonald for Donegal in 2027?

20-year-old Finnbarr Roarty has put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Collingwood in the AFL.

It marks a significant blow for Donegal, with Jim McGuinness recently agreeing to a one-year extension as manager that will expire at the end of next year.

It now looks almost certain he will be without his fellow Naomh Conaill clubman next season, as Tír Chonaill set about defending their Division One NFL title in the coming months.

While Kobe McDonald signed as a category B rookie in November 2025, his commitment to his Leaving Certificate studies ruled him out for the start of the AFL season in March 2026.

While Roarty may be on Irish soil until 2027, even a Naomh Conaill run to the All-Ireland SFC club final would see his season end in January, with the AFL season underway a number of weeks before the intercounty NFL campaign is likely to wrap up.

That would enable him to take part in AFL pre-season - which wasn’t the case for McDonald in 2026 - as his studies concluded in June, before he won the All-Ireland and helped Crossmolina to the last four of the Mayo SFC.

Conor McKenna’s Brisbane Lions won the most recent AFL Grand Final on September 26, marking the end of the six-month season.

That is largely the reason why Kerry’s Mark O’Connor was permitted to play for Dingle on the way to winning the 2026 All-Ireland SFC last January.

So while county football looks a write off for Roarty, the business end of club championship could be a possibility from 2027 onwards.

Football aside, one particular caveat in terms of when the defender departs could be Roarty’s own education, having started a Health and Social Care Policy/Public Health degree at Ulster University in 2025.

While there are no other Irish stars on Collingwood’s books, former Down stars Marty Clarke and Caolan Mooney both played for the Melbourne based outfit, with Derry’s Anton Tohill another who spent three years playing his trade in Victoria.

The tale of Roarty making his debut in the Dr McKenna Cup is well told by now, just 17 when Jim McGuinness entrusted him in the senior jersey.

Roarty was skipper of an U20 side edged out by Tyrone at the semi-final stage of the Ulster Championship this year, while his ability to kick off either foot and presence as a short kickout option for Donegal amongst other things marked him out as a key man in many aspects aside from man marking.

His journey to Young Footballer of the Year in 2025 spoke of his potential. Odds on successor McDonald recently made the move to St Kilda, while 2020 winner Oisin Mullin of Geelong Cats has proven a key midfielder and tagger, a position one would imagine Roarty is likely to assume.

Speaking to The Irish News’ Cahair O’Kane last year, Roarty outlined how his farming background has shaped his footballing style:

“We always claim it’s from herding the cows, you had to read their minds of the cows, the way you have to read a forward, reading their body language and whether they’ll go or now.”

In the same piece, he outlined his philosophy as a bit of a free spirit:

“I’m not the biggest planner, I just like to see how things pan out. Just take it one step at a time. There’s no point planning everything you want to do, just take it as it comes. It’s gonna be a bumpy road.

“You don’t know what will happen next year, we could get to the All-Ireland final, you could get injured, something could happen in your personal life, so you just take it as it comes.”

While a much anticipated Croke Park championship battle with Paudie Clifford never got the chance to materialise, Roarty will be a key asset for defending champions Naomh Conaill on Sunday (3:30pm, MacCumhaill Park), as they seek to overturn familiar final opponents St Eunan’s and win a sixth county title in eight seasons.