HE MAY have the luck of the Irish on his side, but Rob Monahan isn’t prepared to leave anything to chance.

Rather, it’s all about hard work for Carlton’s new recruit — and he’s already leaving quite the impression.

Monahan’s competitive instincts combined with his express pace has caught the eye of plenty at IKON Park, with the 19-year-old embracing all that has come with his new career in Navy Blue.

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"I'm willing to take it on": Monahan on football hopes

Rob Monahan spoke to Channel Nine about coming to Australia and ambitions for 2024.

Speaking to Channel 9 prior to the Christmas break last year, Monahan - who ventured home at Christmas before returning to Melbourne just prior to the new year - spoke of his mindset when entering pastures new, not wanting to put any ceiling on what could be possible.

“I’m ambitious enough to play, but I don’t want to set my expectations too high. I’m just going to go in head first and see what happens,” Monahan said.

“It’s a challenge, but I’m willing to take it on. It’s always going to be tough, but I’m basing it off players that have done it before.”

Monahan could look a bit closer to home when it came to his Australian rules inspirations, with premiership players Tadhg Kennelly (Sydney) and Mark O’Connor (Geelong) also coming from County Kerry.

Despite potentially coming up against each other in the years to come, the latter has been particularly helpful for Monahan in his transition to a country which he’d never been to before prior to his Carlton move.

“I went for a kick with him when I was back home, and that helped a lot. [His advice] was going at it head first and seeing what happens,” he said.

“If I can have half the career they had, I’ll be doing well.”

Monahan is in charge of his own destiny, with all at the Blues - in particular, development coach Brad Ebert - looking to help him unlock his full potential.

“He’s been fantastic, he really has. He’s constantly asking questions and is always really engaged with everything he does: with a guy like that, he’ll pick up the sport a lot quicker,” Ebert said.

“He has that potential. It’s now down to him, and for us and for our environment, to bring that out in him.”