Amongst Zach Tuohy’s many favourite Irish refrains is the song Scorn Not His Simplicity penned by Phil Coulter many years ago. The air relates to the Irish singer/songwriter’s experiences with his son born with Down Syndrome, and the words to the tune read in part;

See him now
As he stands alone
He looks almost like the others
Yet they know he’s not the same

“This song is a song about not limiting someone by any issues he or she might have,” Zach explained during the week. “It’s just a song I’ve always liked.”

For Zach, a self-driven Irishman if ever there was one, there are no limits. Like Jim Stynes before him, Zach’s journey has taken him half a world away, from family and friends to a foreign game in a foreign land . . . and see him now as he stands alone.

This is a manic game of course, and it waits for no man – and yet Zach can still find a moment to reflect on the incredible journey so far.

“My parents are over for a minute now and we’ve talked about how bizarre it is, that you can grow up Ireland doing something else and this chain of events can lead you here and on to the MCG to play in a pretty good game against the Tigers in your 50^th,” Zach said.

“Then, when I talk to my friends back home, it hits home just how lucky I’ve been... and I wouldn’t have changed anything.”

From Croke Park to Carlton is a quantum leap for the kid who hailed from Port Laoise, a place in the Irish midlands historically known as Maryborough. There you’ll find an 800 year-old hill-top castle, a large Georgian estate and surrounding gardens, and a 12^th century Round Tower.

Zach’s countrymen, his friends amongst them, have all dealt with the harsh economic realities of home brought on by the global financial crisis. He knows that the game at this level has offered much in the way of opportunity and for that he is truly grateful - but at 23, not seduced.

“Every AFL footballer is faced with a better quality of life in playing, because the game opens up a lot of doors,” he said. “If the vast majority of AFL players were to stop playing they probably wouldn’t have as many opportunities.

“But for me that wouldn’t be doom and gloom. You can’t make football the focal point of your life or you’d crack up because it’s a stressful job as well.

“In saying that, I couldn’t be happier – I love playing for Carlton, and I love living here and there’s every chance I’ll be here for the next 30 years, if not indefinitely. I’m enjoying it too much to consider going back home.”

When Zach breaks the crepe in his 50^th game for Carlton, lending moral support will be the three-time Premiership player Robert Walls – Carlton’s games record holder with 218 in the No.42 guernsey and the only other player in the club’s history to make the 50-game milestone with that number on his back.

Remarkably, Walls also played game No.50 against Richmond at the MCG – on Grand Final day 1969 no less.

Zach, who last week rubbed shoulders with “Wallsy” for the first time at the Spirit Of Carlton’s Captain’s Luncheon at the Grand Hyatt, happily posed for this historic photograph and couldn’t speak highly enough for the former keeper of the No.42.

“I’ve been wanting to meet Robert for a long time. He’s not only one of the club greats and the greats of the game, but he’s also the only name on my locker,” Zach said.

“He gave me a bit of a ‘pump-up’, which was really nice, and it was really great to meet him. To meet men like that who represented the club and did so many great things is extremely uplifting, especially when they know your name and know who you are. It’s good for your ego.”

So much is happening in Zach’s life right now. His partner Rebecca, whom he met through Levi Casboult’s sister and whose family hail from the old goldfields town of Bendigo, is expecting their first child in January, and he’s in the final stages of securing Australian citizenship status.

Only seems like yesterday that Zach was taken by Carlton as an International rookie with selection 73.

That happened back in 2010, and to quote Coulter’s song “see him now as he stands alone”.

10 questions to Zach Tuohy

1: You’re a travel agent for Port Laoise. Paint the picture of the place for a prospective tourist?
Port Laoise is very beautiful. It’s a big sporting town – a proud football and hurling town and one that I highly recommend you go and see.

2: Australians and the Irish. Compare/contrast?
The Australians, like the Irish, are very friendly. They’re easy-going people I would say, and they both go a beer.

3: Do you read and if so, what was your last book read?
I’m not a big reader. The only books I’ve ever read are autobiographies and right now I’m reading one about an English comedian named David Mitchell called Back Story. He’s very funny.

4: Did you ever captain a team back home? Do you harbor leadership aspirations?
I captained my school team and a couple of my under age club teams, but never at senior level. I’d like to someday be considered as a leader at the club, but I’m not working towards the captaincy. I’m quite happy to be playing my role.

5: What’s the game’s most bizarre rule? What part of the game have you had most difficulty with?
Probably the one they’ve just brought in – the sliding rule. I don’t know if there’s really been too many frees paid for it, but certainly on paper it’s a tough one, especially for the umpires. In terms of the part of the game with which I’ve had most difficulty, it’s probably the set-ups and structures – far more than in GAA.

6: Greatest advice you’ve ever received?
My father always says “Whatever makes you happy is the most important thing” and the old man’s probably right. I’m very lucky and I’m very passionate about what I do, but at the end of the day I’m just playing a game of football and there are bigger things to life, especially now that I’m going to have my own family in a few months... so just be happy.

7: What’s your earliest memory?
My holidays away with my family. We used to head down the coast in Ireland for a weekend. I was probably pretty old then, about 17 or 18, but I’m not sure I remember too much when I was younger.

8: Who is Don Bradman?
Yes, the great cricketer.

9: If it wasn’t for football, what would you be doing?
There’s every chance I’d be on the dole, or trying to convince my parents I was actually working. I’m not sure I ever had much aptitude for anything else except sport and I’m living the dream.

10: What’s your favourite limerick?
I don’t know many limericks. I know some of the old Irish songs of Luke Kelly or Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners. Luke Kelly was a great Irish folk singer. He belted out some great songs, among them “Scorn not his Simplicity” which is a song about not limiting someone by any issues he or she might have. It’s just a song I always liked.

To see and hear the late Luke Kelly perform the song Scorn Not His Simplicity, click here.