The Gold Coast SUNS will be hoping the luck of the Irish doesn’t go with Carlton on Saturday with two players from the Emerald Isle set to line up for the Blues at Etihad Stadium.

While backman Zach Tuohy has been a fixture in the Blues’ best 22 the past three seasons, he’s likely to be joined by another import, Ciaran Sheehan, for the clash with the GC SUNS.

The 23-year-old came to Carlton via the rookie draft last year.  He originally appeared at the club in 2009, the same year Tuohy began his AFL career, but he opted to return home to Ireland to be with family.

He was one of the standouts in last year’s International Rules Series, and his VFL coach, Luke Webster, said he had earned his opportunity to play senior football.

“Ciaran is the one, out of all our first-year guys, who has played the most amount of footy,” Webster said.

“He started the year learning to play as a forward, and then swung around and learned to play as a backman, and he has adapted to that really well.

“One of his biggest assets is his speed, and he’s defending the ball really and also makes good decisions once he gets his hands on the footy.”

The former Gaelic footballer has been upgraded to the senior list as a replacement for Andrew Walker, who has been placed on Carlton’s long-term injury list after being ruled out for the rest of the season with an injured knee.