I must add I liked the 6 handpass rule also. Something the GAA should look at.

Agreed. I think in general they've landed on a good set of rules for the series to continue with. All the talk before was how the kick-outs would suit Australia, but both teams handled themselves well I thought. It was refreshing to see long kicks and high fielding rather than building from the back.

As a game, the whole thing seemed to run a lot smoother than in the recent past when at times it seemed like nobody knew the rules.

Sgt.Pepper (Carlow) - Posts: 83 - 22/11/2014 14:52:56    1674186

Really enjoyed it. Tough but fair. Apart from Cavanagh, Donnelly and McManus I thought the Irish were dreadful, but played better in the second half.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 22/11/2014 15:12:02    1674187

Surprised no one is mentioning Darren Hughes. He was the first player to start running at the Australians. He scored a goal and his quick thinking grabbing the ball and running the free led to the 2nd goal. I had my top players being Hughes,McManus,Donnelly. Out of 2-9 today ulster men scored 1-8 with the own goal and Colm begley the only scorers in our conventional game.

shaggylegend (Monaghan) - Posts: 1928 - 22/11/2014 15:22:23    1674190

Good match in the end but ireland accuracy was poor. Maybe the aussies being more physical than your average back trying to get a block in was in the back of their mind.

38,000 at it too so the series pays for itself and the show will go on. Hopefully they make it a 2 test series.

Jack_Goff (Meath) - Posts: 2920 - 22/11/2014 15:24:47    1674191

Aussies were more skillful with the ball and could have had a few goals in that first half, while we gave away any hard won possession much too cheaply. However the 3rd quarter was a lot more encouraging and we showed a bit of heart at last. An element of luck in both Irish goals, the 1st one was out over the sideline and the 2nd was an o.g. I think. With a minute to go I thought we were in for another but the final ball wasn't good enough. All in all, I'd say Australia deserved to win but with a bit of composure in front of goal Ireland could have upset the odds. I genuinely wish there was a 2nd test to look forward to now.

Suas Sios (None) - Posts: 1550 - 22/11/2014 15:29:29    1674194

Must say the two original sports, Aussie Rules and Gaelic, are each better specticles than this hybrid. Would adding a third team with the best subs of both countries playing together make a better 3-match series ?

omahant (USA) - Posts: 2611 - 22/11/2014 15:39:29    1674198

The real Ireland V Australia is on now boys, now this is more like it!!!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8596 - 22/11/2014 16:45:32    1674211

Ya whatever realdub. The "real" Ireland v Australia.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 22/11/2014 17:00:30    1674214

:D

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8596 - 22/11/2014 17:02:45    1674215

Good game. Actually think by Aussies winning it secures its future. A entertaining game all round.
But should be a two or better still 3 game series.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 22/11/2014 18:39:04    1674243

Aggregate scores over 2 games would be just silly
If one game is a mis-match then it renders the other game irrelevant

valley84 (Westmeath) - Posts: 1890 - 22/11/2014 19:20:10    1674246

Boring.

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2553 - 22/11/2014 20:39:21    1674268

realdub got it exactly right....last night we saw the real ireland take on australia...men who gave everything for the green jersey..men who put their bodies on the line for their country..men who showed courage and bravery...not what we witnessed yesterday morning in a makey uppy sport which shames the proud tradition of gaelic football..and where players and officials treat it as nothing more than an all expenses trip to the other end of the world...lets forget the hype around this nonsense of a game and treat it as nothing more than a silly exhibition game with no real meaning.,.

mayotyroneman (Tyrone) - Posts: 1821 - 23/11/2014 11:27:53    1674295

+1

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 23/11/2014 11:41:17    1674296

mayotyroneman
County: Tyrone
Posts: 1255

1674295
realdub got it exactly right....last night we saw the real ireland take on australia...men who gave everything for the green jersey..men who put their bodies on the line for their country..men who showed courage and bravery

Men who get well payed to play for their country. They put their bodies on the line for their pay packet.

Rugby tends to generate a lot of rubbish talk alright and your post is certainly up their in that tradition.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13717 - 23/11/2014 11:54:17    1674300

Well done to Conor Mc Manus who deserved to get irish player of the game. Darren Hughes made a few good moves up the field and finished the goal very well. Overall its a bit of a joke of a tournamnet considering it took nearly untill the final quater to put a bit of life into it!

Muineachain76 (Monaghan) - Posts: 180 - 23/11/2014 12:03:50    1674301

It's only a game and it's nice to see lads from different counties on the same team. Donnelly and McManus played well for us, most others played alright, was a bit disappointed with AOS and MM - they looked like men who needed a good night's sleep to be honest - those two boys really can do far better than that.

This game is set up for the Aussies. The game basically is Aussie rules with a round ball. An oval ball is a harder one to master as the bounce is much less predictable. All this guff about how the poor Aussies need to adjust to the 'difficult' round ball is nonsense - the round ball is far easier. The Irish are not used to being rugby tackled and their lack of experience in that showed. Key to the Aussie victory was their ability to take the 'mark' in scorable positions. The Irish are used to dispossessing and tackling after a player has fielded and they clearly were caught out on occasion by their opponent suddenly being untouchable after he had 'just' caught a ball.

Also, this is amateurs v pros ffs. As an amateur, you can train all you like, but the thing you'll never match is rest and recovery time by pros who have nothing else to do besides eat, train and sleep. I still train a bit and the biggest problem I have is long working hours and a dopey commute which means you're rarely in good shape to train - or you have to skip sessions because a hard session on top of no sleep and work stress reactivates an injury or gives you the flu or something. That's the reality for an ordinary past-it bloke just trying to keep half-fit; I can't imagine how much more of an issue must it be for guys trying to train at a serious level while being amateurs.

By rights, it should be a no-contest with the Aussies winning by double scores every time. I'd love to see how an equally-amateur Irish soccer select would manage against an international side full of pros (seeing as even the Irish pro soccer team is a talent-free 'hoof and rush' zone) and I'd love to see how an Irish amateur club rugby select would do against the Australians. Now that would be car crash viewing!

Ultimately though, all the time money and effort that has gone into this since the 1980s should have put into supporting the GAA round the world. I'd love to see a US or UK GAA team come over to Ireland and turn over the locals - that'd be something worth working for. Logically, the compromise rules cannot ever develop beyond an annual jolly - you have to say, long term, what exactly is the point?

essmac (Tyrone) - Posts: 1141 - 23/11/2014 12:56:44    1674310

I agree with you Mesamis regards the Rugby.The blatant elitism of it growing up in Dublin has left a sour taste in my mouth to this day.Way too much media hype and coverage.Thank God for GAA.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 23/11/2014 13:07:15    1674311

Nice to see that George Hooks line that rugby is superior to gaelic football because it requires the courage, commitment and character of men has been lapped up so readily by the gullible.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 23/11/2014 13:14:42    1674312

I much prefer Gaelic football to rugby, hence the reason I played it before I chose the egg-chasing. But the people who put this hybrid rubbish together must be feeling like Dr. Frankenstein right now!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8596 - 23/11/2014 14:46:37    1674324