The Roar
The Roar

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International rules is a great concept, must get bigger

What would a federated domestic 'football' look like? (Chris Brown/flickr)
Editor
3rd May, 2017
35
1133 Reads

It takes pioneering spirit to push for a sporting concept to get off the ground.

Most know the basic history of Australian rules football and how Tom Wills promoted the game as a way of keeping cricketers fit in the off season.

Less is known about how an Irish team came to play Australia in the first unofficial international rules contest 50 years ago.

The remarkable history of the first ever Australian team to head overseas is covered in a brand new documentary – titled The Galahs.

After witnessing the All-Ireland Gaelic final in 1966, former umpire, media personality and promoter Harry Beitzel sent a message via a telex machine that an Australian team would love to challenge the All-Ireland champions, Meath.

Not only would they challenge but they were confident of winning and even offered to play by predominantly Gaelic rules – including the use of the round ball.

Before the days of social media, news of the tour spread, especially due to unique Australian uniform – featuring Diggers’ slouch hats, which caused quite a stir.

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The Australian team known as The Galahs had some of the most well-known VFL players in history.

Captained by Ron Barassi – the team also included Bob Skilton, Alex Jesaulenko, Barry Davis, Royce Hart, John Nicholls, Hassa Mann, John Dugdale and Ken Fraser.

Despite having limited time to master kicking the soccer ball, the Australian team won comfortably in the cauldron of Croke Park in 1967.

It shocked the Irish that the Galahs could beat them at their own game. The next year another Aussie side toured again and went undefeated.

Many of the players who represented Australia believed it was their greatest achievement in football outside of winning a premiership.

Despite the initial success of those tours it took 16 years for the concept to resurface.

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The first official international rules series was in 1984. This time it was Australia vs Ireland.

Since then international rules has come and gone and come back again. It had an eight-year hiatus in the 90s and it was canceled in 2007 after violence had overshadowed previous encounters.

It’s a real shame that despite all the history the Australia-Ireland fixtures have never truly taken off.

In modern times, part of that is down to the fact that Gaelic football remains strictly amateur. That doesn’t compute with the professional world that we’re used to.

It’s also hard for the AFL players to completely change their tackling style to stay within the rules of the game.

Australia celebrates defeating Ireland 2010 International Rules AFL GAA

It can leave Australian fans frustrated that it’s too Gaelic focussed but it has to be for those obvious reasons. The amateur Irish boys just aren’t built to withstand heavy bumps.

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The matches have to be played outside of the respective seasons and that doesn’t help. This year Australia will host Ireland in November for a two-Test series. The venues are still yet to be determined.

Despite all these factors, I’m convinced international rules could have been massive if it was handled better through the years and wasn’t allowed to drift in and out of the public’s consciousness.

The whole professional vs amateur angle is unique in itself. The way AFL players have to adapt to the round ball, the different tactics and kicking at an actual football goal is fascinating. It’s also intriguing to witness how the Irish players deal with the physicality that they’re not used to.

As the AFL pumps money into promoting Port Adelaide’s historic Chinese fixture against Gold Coast, more should be done to promote this year’s international rules as well.

It may be a hybrid game, but it’s a game where an Aussie rules footballer gets the chance to represent their country. As the 1967 Galahs would tell you, that’s a concept worth getting around.

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