Wiser Cullen thirsting for revenge against Australia
Back in 2001, the Skerries man was captain of the Ireland U17 side that took on their Antipodean counterparts in a three-Test series that began brightly but degenerated into a painful 95-314 aggregate massacre.
The first Test, played as the curtain-raiser to a Carlton-Essendon AFL game in front of 80,000 at Melbourne’s MCG, was an absorbing affair for three quarters until the hosts’ superior fitness levels and physiques prevailed. After that it was all downhill for the visitors.
“Player for player, their biggest guy wasn’t that much bigger than our biggest guy but they tended to have more of them,” recalled Cullen “Their fitness levels were far superior to ours as well.
“We were used to playing for 60 minutes, they were used to playing for two hours. It’s not so noticeable at senior level because fitness levels here have gone through the roof.”
Fast forward four years and, on the evidence of 2004, it’s now the Australians who seem to be struggling to adapt to the hybrid game at senior level.
The response of new Aussie coach Kevin Sheedy has been to plump for a squad centred on speed, one he hopes can counter the Irish side’s edge in mobility that caused Garry Lyon’s team so much grief last year in Croke Park.
“I saw the panel on the internet the other day,” said Cullen. “I wouldn’t be hugely familiar with a lot of them but of the eight or nine names I recognised are quality players.
“I suppose they have gone for the stronger, faster type. In the last few years, and in particular last year, our ability to twist and turn and our greater mobility has really shown the Australians up and they’re trying to counteract that.”
Last year’s series will certainly have concentrated the hosts’ minds. A beaten Aussie, in any sport, has always been regarded as being dangerous as a cornered rat and Cullen freely admits to expecting a frenzied response in the upcoming two tests.
“Particularly on Australian soil, yeah. I’d say they were particularly embarrassed by their performance last year. It had been a while since the series had been so one-sided so I’m sure they’ll try and do everything to reclaim the cup.”
If Australia have changed tack, then Ireland’s tactics won’t have changed considerably from last year where the focus will be on a regular turnover of three-pointers.
As part of last season’s successful squad, Cullen saw the benefit of that first-hand and he stressed the importance of not falling into old habits of the past where Irish teams sometimes displayed something of a fetish for six-pointers, and to their cost.
International Rules is evolving all the time and the importance of the tackle, for so long a trump card for Australia, has been heavily diluted in recent years, according to the Skerries Harps clubman.
“A lot of people go on about the tackle but you’d be amazed at how many tackles actually occur in this game. Players are cute enough now. They’re not bringing the ball into the tackle and the Australians are the same. The chances you actually do get to tackle are few and far between.
“It’s not so much about fitness levels anymore either, it’s about who uses the ball better. Obviously we have the advantage there because it’s our ball we’re playing with. The series is definitely there for the taking again because the panel of players we have is unbelievable.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
