Compromise rules tests

[Maz]

It seemed that he picked players with speed and supposed physical power...it didnt work. It doesn't work. Difference between professional and amateur!

[paul_oshea]

when i was in the states i remember a lad over there telling me that these boys are in the gym from 15 3 - 4 times a week, and by 16 a lot of them are doing steroids.....or were probably not as much now but.

so we are never really going to match them in those stakes but in order to beat them we have to be somewhat physical too.

[pete]

Last year too physical so every moaning.
This year GAA advertises as "time to play hard"
1st test boring as no physicality at all. Everyone moaning.
2nd test has loads of incidents, more tackles. Every moans.



I only saw the first minute or so & then sawe bits of later when was over as a contest. Skill level of Gaelic football has decreased hugely in the last 5 years. FFS the Aussies don't evn have goals, round balls or keepers & beat Ireland soundly in goals & overs. Every year i have noticed ireland players cannot tackle & don't react quick enough to tackling opportunities. I don't understand why so difficult to coach this as half the Gaelic footballs in the country probably also play rugby now.

The Aussie coach was correct - everytime ireland lose they moan about too physical & threaten to leave the series.

[paul_oshea]

The Aussie coach was correct - everytime ireland lose they moan about too physical & threaten to leave the series.

i havent seen the match bar the youtube stuff so im not really in a position to say, but I think that statement is correct, when the irish were playing hard and geraghty kneed the aussie guy in the head and he had to get stitches nothing was made of that, yet when gerhagty gets tackled fairly and is knocked out they start moaning. one of their guys got headbutted ffs. but then again, mcgeeney is well able for them and he didnt over-react and punch anyone or any of that, and if our strongest player can and doesnt get involved and is complaining then i would go with what he says.....


actually having looked at the gerhagty tackle, he didnt put up any resistance in the tackle which was worse for him, cos your man had all the power over him, however looking at it, its fairly obvious yer man went to hurt him, he shoved him into the ground head first. and then landed on his head. geraghty could have broken his neck.

[samabu92]

Put the Armagh squad on against the aussies. Armagh play the same way and also get away with off the ball incidents(can add a few Tyrone players too)

[Maz]

Well Alan Brogan and Paul Barden both have more speed that Dolan and Forde in my opinion. Granted Mulligan for power but plenty of players can feel hard done by for not being picked.

[Fivesilver]

Can we inform the Australians in advance of next year's series precisely how hard we want them to play? They must be getting confused.

But in all seriousness, looking at the fitness levels of the two sides should once and for all put a nail in the coffin of the GPA's claim that GAA players are "professionals in all but name".

[Jerry The Saint]

Fans at the game were much more angry about the inept performance from the Irish team than the Aussie thuggery. As has been said, it's not International Rules that we're crap at - it's Gaelic Football. If it ever did go international, like Mickey Harte advocates, we would end up getting our arses handed to us.

Some of the misses from McDonnell, one of the finest players of his generation, were beyond embarrassing. And players missed plenty of free-kicks/marks so they can't blame added defensive pressure for their mistakes.

I dislike the hypocrisy from the GAA, and sections of the media who never liked the sport, but having said that the behaviour in the first quarter, instigated by Australia (but kept going by our lot), was clearly out of line. The so-called get tough measure brought in were ignored by weak officials - a couple of red cards in the first minute would have put a stop to that. In particular, the Australian ref giving a yellow after Benny Coulter was stretched out shows another weakness of the game. They need to appoint neutral refs (England/New Zealand/wherever refs from rugby league/union or another code) to get rid of the blatant favouritism being shown. It's not as if the GAA/AFL refs are experts anyway, they only spend a couple of weeks a year looking at the rules.

Anyway, I blame Staunton, he has clearly destroyed the morale of Irish sport on an even wider scale than we ever imagined.

[Maz]

Fans at the game were much more angry about the inept performance from the Irish team than the Aussie thuggery. As has been said, it's not International Rules that we're crap at - it's Gaelic Football. If it ever did go international, like Mickey Harte advocates, we would end up getting our arses handed to us.

Some of the misses from McDonnell, one of the finest players of his generation, were beyond embarrassing. And players missed plenty of free-kicks/marks so they can't blame added defensive pressure for their mistakes.

I dislike the hypocrisy from the GAA, and sections of the media who never liked the sport, but having said that the behaviour in the first quarter, instigated by Australia (but kept going by our lot), was clearly out of line. The so-called get tough measure brought in were ignored by weak officials - a couple of red cards in the first minute would have put a stop to that. In particular, the Australian ref giving a yellow after Benny Coulter was stretched out shows another weakness of the game. They need to appoint neutral refs (England/New Zealand/wherever refs from rugby league/union or another code) to get rid of the blatant favouritism being shown. It's not as if the GAA/AFL refs are experts anyway, they only spend a couple of weeks a year looking at the rules.

Anyway, I blame Staunton, he has clearly destroyed the morale of Irish sport on an even wider scale than we ever imagined.

You're opening statement is very true. The shooting yesterday was disgraceful. In gaelic games...most of the Irish scores (behinds) were wides in a normal game. Twas a dreadful performance

[paul_oshea]

jerry the saint id agree with most of what you have said there.

the irish public like to see the scrapping. the media do not in any sport, particulalry this game, speak for the public, and that shows by the fact that 115,000 attended both games....

[geysir]

I only started watching the game after the first 1/4 so I missed all the fireworks. In defeat or victory over the past 20 years I have never heard Boylan to be anything other than 100% gracious. I take his word on his statements.
I don't mind a few fair scraps and legal hard tackles in abundance but refs afflicted with rule amnesia are a curse.
You'd have to apply a rugby discipline on that game, real sin bins and a no nonsence rugby ref.
From the you tube segments
the tackle on GG didn't look so malicious in comparison to the one on Coulter but it was very illegal, can't swing a player around like that to the ground, it's serious dangerous play, red card.
Pete, it's gas that you can't seem to help yourself from watching a few minutes here and there and pontificate (on the GAA skill levels of the past 5 years) on a game you detest. Which skills do you think are deteriorating?

[Macy]

I hear Brennan is still going on about it, blaming the Aussie's totally there on Off The Ball. At this stage, clearly a tatic to cover up for the thuggery in the GAA over the weekend, with match officials being lamped by players and mentors. Following on from last weekends stuff in Arklow.

[Reality Bites]

The roughhouse tactics by the Aussies glossed over the simple fact that the Australian lads are better Gaelic footballers than our own lads and to add insult to injury in our own back yard..I think their score taking their movement, fielding, strength and fitness were in a different league to our lads.. Amateurs V Professionals

[endabob1]

I haven't seen the game this weekend but I've been to a couple in the past and watched a couple and the one thing that struck me is the nonsense of the rules, Red cards are never shown, the 2 umpires are a joke, the Irish one makes decisions in Favour of Irish players and likewise for the Australian.
In any other sport, Soccer, Rugby, Gaa etc. if you deliberatley took someone out illegally when they were through on goal/heading for the try line you would be red carded instantly no questions no arguments but it happened twice in one game I was at and there wasn't even a yellow shown. For the game to have any future they need to sort out the rules or abandon the whole experiment, as it is the AFL get more out of it as a recruitment tool than the Gaa do as a marketing/income generator.

[bohs til i die]

At least these boys dknow how to fight with a touch of class .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-Y-b1mfEDc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIBTGv1_XcQ

[manofthemoment]

i was at both games. the Aussies should have won the first test just as easily as the second but they probably got bored with the opposition they were getting. The media i think are inclined to make more of the violence than was really there. Having said that the officials should have been able to deal more effectively with the incidents that did happen. After all it was mostly done out in the open (no sly digs or kicks when no-one was looking). We get just as much 'incident' in some regular GAA games i.e. Galway county hurling final. I have always admired Sean Boylan as a manager but i think it was a bit rich him of all people complaining of the roughouse tactics. The real problem here was that Ireland were unable to compete and but for the fact that it was a nice way to introduce the kids to Croke Park it would have bee a wasted day for most. The violence is relatively easy to contain, getting Ireland players up to the same level as amateurs may be a bigger problem and this is what will ultimately kill the series

[pete]

Which skills do you think are deteriorating?

I've spoken to GAA people on this. Former inter-county hurler (maybe he biased against football but I doubt it) agreed that shooting was basically crap in current inter country players. Aussies beat Ireland 3-0 on goals. Inter County players should be scoring 90% of efforts from 35 yards. I'd guess average 50% on good day? I suggest maybe the ball needs to be lighter?

[geysir]

That's one skill, shooting with accuracy within range. I don't know if it's any worse now, I think it was always a hit or miss affair

Most of McDonnell's efforts were accurate but fell short into the goalkeepers hands. This was also well short of his own standards.
IMO the Aussies were not anything special, Ireland were just dreadful in contrast.