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Australia have secured a victory in their International Rules Test against the Irish in Perth with a 56-46 win.
It was a close finish and quite enjoyable in the end, and good to see the Irish come back in the second half and make a serious game of it. The only thing missing was an Aussie goal!
FULL TIME
AUSTRALIA 56
IRELAND 46
Thirty years after the first International Rules Test was played in 1984, Australia and Ireland go head to head on Saturday night. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8:45pm (AEDT).
This year the Australians have put together arguably the best team we’ve ever had, for the first time raising the bar at the selection table to All-Australian players only.
Simply put, it means the team is made up of some of the best in the business. Captained by Geelong skipper Joel Selwood, the midfield also boasts the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Jobe Watson, Travis Boak, Tom Rockliff and Luke Hodge – just to name a few.
Nathan Fyfe was also set to play for Australia but a minor shoulder injury in the warm-up match has seen him ruled out.
The AFL’s two oldest players will also make an appearance. 39-year-old Dustin Fletcher will reprise his role as goalkeeper for a fourth series, where his experience and freakishly long limbs are bound to come in handy, and Australia’s most experienced player, Brent Harvey, is playing in his sixth series.
Even the coaching panel has some star power. The side is coached by three-time Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson, who is backed up by assistants Ross Lyon and Chris Scott.
Most exciting of all however might be Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard. Wingard kicked three of Australia’s five goals in a warm-up match against an ex-pat Irish side last week, showing that his freakish-talents know no code.
As talent-laden as the Australian team is, it’d be a mistake to write off the Irish. Their skipper Michael Murphy is regarded as the GAA’s top player, and has been fending off approaches from AFL clubs for nearly a decade.
Brisbane’s Pearce Hanley will take the field for Ireland as the only member of the Irish team currently on an AFL list, however, he will be joined by former Brisbane teammate Colm Begley who played 30 AFL games in 2006-09.
Both sides have some trials to overcome if they are to win. Typically the most difficult challenge for the Australians has been adapting their skills to the round ball.
For the Irish, the challenge has come in increasing their physicality. Gaellic football tends to limit physical contact, but tackling and bumping is fair game in the hybrid International Rules.
For those not sure on exactly how the game works, the rules are explained well on the AFL Website.
All things considered, this is our chance to see some of the best athletes from both countries go head to head.
Prediction
Having watched a fair bit of GAA this year I’m not kidding myself about the Irish – they are excellent at what they do, and their skills with the round ball are going to be a massive advantage.
That said, I’m pretty chuffed with the amount of talent in the Australian team. Maybe I’m just being overly patriotic, but I think this might be the finest bunch yet to wear the green and gold, and I’ll back them in.
Australia by 18 points.