Rules Test set to sell out

November 14, 2014

The Irish International Rules squad training in Wesley College, Melbourne.
©INPHO/Cathal Noonan.

AFL media relations manager Patrick Keane expects tomorrow week's International Rules test in Perth to be a sell-out.

And he attributes this to the calibre of players in the Australian squad, which is the strongest they have assembled in many years.

"We've always nearly sold out in Perth and had very good crowds in Adelaide. Melbourne has been up and down depending on the quality of the players.  As soon as sides are at full strength, you'd be confident that crowds will be really good," he said.

"The experience was that players want to play once or twice, but were happy not to play again. Now we've almost gone full circle again to the absolute best players being the ones who'll be picked."

Keane also feels the decision to stage one Test match rather than two or three, as was the case in previous years, suits the Australian better.

"Certainly the feedback from our player group has been that with all of the commitments around what their clubs ask of them it was much easier for them to make a one-and-a-half week commitment out of season than a two-and-a-half or three-week one, which would be the case with two matches," he added.


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