Niall Morgan has been speaking about how the role of the goalkeeper in Gaelic football is more important than it has ever been.

"If you look at the status of goalkeepers, it has gone from being the fat kid to being one of the key members of the team!" the Tyrone custodian told reporters as the Irish squad departed Melbourne for Saturday's International Rules Test against Australia in Perth.

The 23-year-old says it's an honour to be chosen to represent his country.

"I don't think (Stephen) Cluxton made himself available. But there is Rob Hennelly, Brian Kelly, Rory Beggan and Paul Durcan - there are a lot of goalkeepers now who are becoming household names. It's not just the full forwards who do all the scoring."

Morgan agreed that the new rule which forces goalkeepers to drop their kick-outs beyond the 45-metre line will pose a challenge for him or Meath's Paddy O'Rourke on Saturday.

"They will probably just zone the pitch and make sure that there is no kick-out on. Because of the mark they are going to be more natural fielders. We will have to make sure that wherever the kick-outs go, they are not going to their best fielders. We will have to keep it away from them and keep it out of the air as much as possible."

Commenting on the giant Aussie fielder Nic Naitanui, Morgan said: "The word is he is a bit of an animal.

"One of the Australians called him a 'freak of nature'. He seems to be one of the tallest, one of the strongest and one of the fittest. He just seems to have everything going for him. It will be interesting to see whether they play him in the middle or in the full forward line and target him."

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