Irish international duo Shane O'Donoghue and Kyle Good have signed playing contracts with top Belgian club Dragons, one of Europe's top clubs, for the 2014/15 season.
The Antwerp-based side recently finished third in the Euro Hockey League - hockey's equivalent of the Champions League. It was their third successive medal in the EHL and represents a huge opportunity for the two young Irish players to compete at the top level of club hockey.
It continues Dragons’ long-held association with Irish players with Stephen Butler playing two stints with the Brasschaat club while Joe Brennan, Graham Shaw, Eugene Magee, Mikey Watt and Geoff McCabe have also had spells there.
Both O’Donoghue and Good have previous EHL experience. O’Donoghue played with Glenanne in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons, reaching the KO16 the second time around. Good, meanwhile, played for Three Rock Rovers in their run to the KO16 in the 2008/09 season, drawing with both KHC Leuven and Atletic Terrassa.
O’Donoghue played the last three seasons with UCD and has established himself as a regular in the Irish senior team with 37 caps and scored three times in the past week during a Four Nations tournament in Barcelona.
Good, who can play either in midfield or in the forward line, helped Monkstown to the last two Irish Hockey League crowns and has 25 international caps to his name.
