Hailing from Portlaoise, a town which is located in the South Midlands in the province of Leinster in Ireland, Zach Tuohy grew up in a country more accustomed to round ball games. The youngest of four children, Tuohy played Gaelic football and was a member of the Portaloise Club in Ireland’s Gaelic football league where he won a Leinster Minor Football Championship. After completing his schooling and following an under-18 Gaelic football semi final, Tuohy received a phone call from then Carlton recruiter and now TLA Head of Cricket, Gerard Sholly about the opportunity to come to Australia and trial with AFL club Carlton. Tuohy’s university studies were put on the backburner and he was soon on a plane to Melbourne. Despite not enjoying his initial two week trial, the lure of a two year contract and an opportunity, and some encouragement from his parents were enough to see Tuohy commit to the Blues ahead of the 2010 season.

Tuohy began his career playing in Carlton’s VFL side where his initial roles consisted of being a tagger and rebound defender. After impressive form, Tuohy was elevated to the club’s senior list, making his AFL debut in Round 11 against Port Adelaide. Consistency saw Tuohy become one of the mainstays of Carlton’s side, fulfilling roles in the half-back line as well half-forward line where he hit the scoreboard using his long-range kick. 2015 was a breakout year for Tuohy finishing third in Carlton’s Best and Fairest count, and being selected by the 2015 AFLCA All Australian side as a small defender. 2016 saw Tuohy pass 100 AFL games, becoming only the fifth Irish player to play AFL to have achieved this. Traded to Geelong at the end of 2016, Tuohy’s consistency has remained. In 2017 Tuohy relished at his new club and was nominated for the All Australian squad of 40. He also represented Ireland in the International Rules Series against Australia, making it his third appearance for the national side, having previously played in 2011 and 2013. Now with over 200 games of experience to his name, Tuohy sits second behind the late Jim Stynes for most AFL games played by an Irishman.