Returning Kildare star Brophy says progress of Lilywhites helped him make decision to return home

Paddy Brophy has admitted that a combination of homesickness, not meeting his own high expectations in the AFL and the sight of Kildare and Celbridge progressing well was the catalyst for him returning from Australia after two-and-a-half years down under.

Having taken a punt on professional life with the West Coast Eagles in 2014, Brophy found his playing time limited and his progression through the ranks and into the first team didn't come as he had hoped.

"It (AFL) wasn't going as I wanted. You set yourself expectations but the whole time you are over there you are thinking about football," he told the national media at an Eir launch in Croke Park this week.

"You are going from being probably at a good level of playing the sport to going and starting at the bottom and trying to work your way up.

"You will always compare your performances from one sport to another and you always set yourself high expectations, expectations I probably didn't meet over there. It was the best decision for me to come home."

"I was on the second team last year and that obviously played a factor in signing a new contract. I was thinking I was very close to getting a game. But this year was different," he acknowledged.

"I was getting to a stage where I was playing decent football but I didn't see the spot opening up for the first team, I didn't get the opportunity.

"From there I thought to myself, 'I don't see myself breaking in this year. I don't really want to hold on for much longer'. I left on good terms, I left on my own terms."

The Celbridge man then outlined how he struggled with being at the top of his game in Ireland and then adjusting to being a rookie down under when joining the West Coast Eagles, saying that being patient was the name of the game and that is something he probably didn't have.

Nonetheless, he is at home now and is available for selection on Sunday for Kildare's Leinster quarter-final against Laois, and he could play a major role following injuries to Neill Flynn and Ben McCormack over the past couple of weeks.

"I was the first recruit from Ireland with the club so there was very little Irish representation," he said.

"The hardest thing is probably readjusting and understanding where you are at, and how long it will actually take to actually crack the game. But, when you are at a good level back home, and then you are starting from the bottom, it's hard to take. You have got to be very, very patient, and it was probably something that I didn't have.

"Kildare have been going well the last two years, so obviously there is optimism. I see a lot of my friends playing well, good football. I was definitely encouraged by the way Kildare were moving and even at club level with Celbridge."