Red Óg Murphy will be hoping to become the next Gaelic footballer to play in the AFL after signing with North Melbourne.

The young Sligo player trialled with the club in August and impressed according to North’s GM of Football Cameron Joyce.

“Red was invited to Arden Street and we were really happy with his ability and character,” Joyce said.

“Our recruiters, and in particular our Pro Scout Nick Byrne, have stayed in touch with him and his family over the past few months and we are really happy to have signed him as a Category-B rookie on our list.”

In particular, Murphy’s running capacity stood out and his testing ranked in the top echelon of players at the club.

“We did a variety of tests with Red and he was exceptional,” Joyce added.

“We feel that he has the right foundations to enable him to have a real crack at playing in the AFL and we will give him every chance.”

Murphy recently played for his club side Curry against Shamrock Gaels on the weekend in the Kennedys Intermediate final replay but unfortunately, his side lost 1-13 to 1-10.

The forward, one of his club's and county Sligo's brightest prospects, will now have a much bigger challenge on his hands as he attempts to trade the round ball for the Sherrin.

There are currently 13 other Irish players in the AFL.