Messages

Being a Australian the only problem i have with the International Rules Series is the rules are 70% Gaelic Football and 30% Aussie Rules. Though i dont think there is a sporting code in the world with a wierder looking goal setup. Im used to the 4 goal posts but the net in the middle still looks strange to me.

i'm delighted to hear that, like you said its the only sensible decision. the next problem is for ireland to be competitive....

Due to the amount of Irishmen in the AFL i would imagine Ireland will be quite competitive as half your team will be professional athletes and they will have the advantage of playing both Aussie Rules Football and Gaelic Football.

Murphy was told afew months ago that before he can play AFL he has to put on 10kg as he is too thin at the moment to survive at a AFL level. Also look at Martin Clarke from when he left Ireland to now, he is alot stronger now than he was afew years ago.

[Irish invasion headed for AFL]

Irish invasion headed for AFL

SYDNEY SWANS import Tadhg Kennelly expects the number of Irish AFL players to treble in the next few years, but would like to see compensation for the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

Kennelly's trailblazing efforts in the Swans 2005 premiership and the remarkable debut season by Collingwood's Martin Clarke in 2007 has reignited the influx of Irish footballers to Australia with another four drafted to AFL clubs earlier this week.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg, according to the Sydney defender, as most of those targeted by AFL talent scouts resist the advances to move to Australia.

Some fear being labelled a traitor for leaving their County sides, while most of the better players are offered incentives by the GAA to stay in Ireland.

"People probably don't know it but there's probably been 20 people offered in the last eight years that I've been here and a lot haven't taken up on it," said Kennelly.

"A lot of the guys in the better Countys decide not to come because they want to win an Ireland medal, which is something they've always dreamed about.

"It's not a flood of players coming out (yet) - there's 10 players here now but in two or three years time there could be 30 and that's a flood.

"I say to any player in Ireland who has an opportunity to come out here that it's a win-win situation and there's no way you can lose."

Gaelic footballers in Ireland are not paid professionals, however recent strike action has led to a $5 million fund set up to compensate the amateurs for their time each season.

Kennelly said the AFL's attempts to recruit Irish players should not come at the expense of the Gaelic competition and supported calls for monetary compensation for the local teams.

"The last thing I want is to see the GAA or the game itself suffer," he said.

"We're taking the best players so it's obviously going to affect the game. Being an amateur association and sport there is always the lure for players to go and play more professional sport.

"Some agreement or policy is going to have to come to terms with the GAA and AFL."

He also urged the AFL and GAA to put aside the bitterness from the violent 2006 International Rules series and resurrect the competition.

Kennelly said almost all of Ireland's players want the annual fixture against Australia to return.

"There was a survey sent out to the 31 players (from the last game) and it was 85 per cent who would do it again," said Kennelly.

"What we need is to get a relationship back going between the GAA and the AFL. The relationship is sour at the moment because of International Rules.

"At home a lot of it was the media went berserk, absolutely crazy and there was a lot of heated reaction. I think the players have always wanted it in Ireland.

"It's a great opportunity, but if anything it's all been taken too serious. At the end of the day it's just two exhibition games."

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22919508-23211,00.html

[the coaches have to also put alot of work in]

These teams are trying to better there teams, if they see talent in ireland why wouldnt they go for them? it is not as ifs these players ae walking onto aussie rules teams, the coaches have to also put alot of work in

Very true. Irish players require alot more 1 on 1 attention than than most other young players as for some they need to learn new skills which are already present in regular young players (eg kicking the ball). Gaelic Football and Aussie Rules are similar in many important ways but they also have quite afew differences and these need to be taught to the young Irish recruits which does take more time.

I see the Aussies are raving about Brendan Murphy- looks like a star in the making.

Actually it was Tadhg Kennelly who compared Brendon Murphy to the best midfielder in the AFL. I have very high hopes for Murphy as he looks like a really talented player and could be a real asset for the Sydney Swans. If Murphy can turn out to be as half as good as Kennelly i will be a very happy man as Kennelly really is a excellent player who provides much needed run from the halfback line. Watching the Swans play when Kennelly is injured is painful at best. He is top 5 talent wise in the Swans team and i would say top 3 in terms of importance. I am not looking forward to 2010 when he goes back to Ireland.

[New Swan hailed as Irish Judd]

I thought you all would be interested in seeing this article


New Swan hailed as Irish Judd

A TEENAGE apprentice electrician from the tiny village of Rathvilly in County Carlow is Ireland's answer to AFL superstar Chris Judd, according to fellow countryman Tadhg Kennelly.

It's a huge rap for Brendan Murphy, who is rated the most talented young Gaelic footballer in Ireland, but Kennelly believes the lanky 18-year-old is going to be the real deal once he makes the transition to AFL.

"He (Murphy) is big, big news," Kennelly said.

"He wouldn't be quite the hype of Chris Judd at 18 years old but not far, far off.

"There was a lot of disappointment when he left (Ireland)."

Murphy, a 195cm tall, super athletic midfielder for Carlow stood out in this year's Gaelic football finals because of his phenomenal skills.

"They have a (player) rating system similar to here and you play for your county and (Carlow) lost the quarter-final but he was just the man, he was running the show," Kennelly said.

"You have to be mobile to play Gaelic football but there's very, very few at 6-5 (195cm) playing and able to move . . . he'd be as quick as anyone his height."

The AFL yesterday released details of unlisted players who have been given permission to train with clubs in the lead-up to the national, pre-season and rookie drafts.

"You hope that he can make centre half-forward or centre half-back, whichever one he's comfortable with," he said.

Another two Irish players, Michael Shields (Carlton) and Kevin Dyas (Collingwood) will also train with clubs.

Murphy - escorted by Kennelly - arrived in Sydney on Wednesday morning from Rathvilly, which has a population of 700 and is about 84km from Dublin, to begin his crash course on Australian rules football.

But he does at least know who Judd is.

"I've heard of Chris Judd, yeah Tadhg's talked about him and we actually went to see him play (against St Kilda). He's a good player," Murphy said, referring to his secret visit to Australia in late August.

But he's not so sure about the Irish Judd comparison, quickly adding: "Don't listen to Tadhg."

The Swans' dashing Irish defender played a pivotal role in helping Sydney swipe Murphy from right under the nose of the unsuspecting Brisbane Lions back in August.

Murphy had all but signed on the dotted line to trial with the Lions before a phone call from Kennelly talking up the Swans changed everything.

"When I talked to Tadhg he convinced me that Sydney was the right place to come," Murphy said.

Murphy admits he's taking a risk after agreeing to a two-year deal at Sydney, but says it's 10 times better than being an apprentice electrician.

"I've always liked (AFL) and the chance to be a professional and get paid doing something you love doing it's a dream really to get this chance," he said.

Kennelly warned not to expect Murphy to be the same instant success story of another Gaelic convert, Martin Clarke, at Collingwood.

"I think it's going to be a lot, lot harder for Brendan because a key position is a lot harder to play obviously and that's why they are more valuable to the club," Kennelly said.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22728163-23211,00.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Im a Swans supporter and im getting really excited about this kid.

I live in Australia so if anyone could provide me with a link so i could watch this documentary. Any assistance would be appreciated.

The trickle of Irish players coming to the AFL is now turning into a flood.

[2002]

In that case they might as well just play AFL and leave the GAA to get on with developing its own game.  The GAA should be working on some version of a Gaelic Football "World Cup" which obviously would exclude Ireland for a period of time.

The AFL already has something like that and i think you will be surprised to learn that the 2nd best AFL team in the world is Ireland.

Here are the rankings.

1. Ireland
2. Papua New Guinea
3. New Zealand
4. United States of America
5. Denmark
6. Samoa
7. Great Britain
8. Nauru
9. Canada
10. Sweden

Here are the placings of the 2 International Cups

2002
1. Ireland
2. Papua New Guinea
3. New Zealand
4. Denmark

2005
1. New Zealand
2. Papua New Guinea
3. united States of America
4. Ireland

Well in afew years Ireland could field a International Rules team full of professional sportsmen as the AFL is currently on a recruitment drive in Ireland. From memory i think Ireland has 5 players in AFL and those 5 players would probably all be in the Irish squad. That should help Ireland quite alot.

Id be happy if the International Rules series was just Gaelic Football with physical contact. It would be interesting to see how the Australian team goes.

is this to do with the very biased refereeing of the australian official last time out?

More to do with the biased umpiring of the Irish guy I hear - depends how you look at it

I think it's fair to say that most of the refereeing problems have been with the Australian officials who seem to take an optional approach to applying the rules.

Im not certain how the rules are enforced in Gaelic Football but in AFL alot of the rules are open to interpretation and as a result the umpires tend to use their best judgement with each situation. Rules like holding the ball and hands in the back can be interpreted very differently depending on with umpire is at the game. I would imagine they took a similar approach to umpiring at the International Rules series.

[Dyas agrees to join Collingwood]

Dyas agrees to join Collingwood

Armagh's young star Kevin Dyas has signed a two-year rookie contract with Australian Rules side Collingwood.
The teenager from Dromintee will link up with former Down starlet Martin Clarke who has made such a brilliant start to his career Down Under.

Dyas switches codes after a successful four-week trial last month and took little time in deciding to accept a contract with the Melbourne-based club.

The 19-year-old Dromintee player was impressed by the Collingwood set-up.

"They are a very professional, a team that takes the game seriously, with a very professional game plan.

"I would be going out to give it my best shot, there would be no point wasting my time."

Clarke, who moved to Collingwood last year, has been a revelation since he was elevated into Magpies senior squad.

"He has been very impressive, and is playing really well," said Dyas.

"He was one of the best players when I was there."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/7023963.stm

You must be joking ? You can play until your 38 ??

You can. Its extremely rare but can happen. Most players retire before the age of 34. The most common retirement bracket is 32-34.