McGrath: AFL exports key to ending Aussie series control

INTERNATIONAL Rules manager Pete McGrath will call on Irish AFL exports Setanta Ó hAilpín and Tadhg Kennelly in a bid to end Australian dominance of the hybrid series.

Kennelly, starring with the Sydney Swans, and Carlton Blues club man Ó hAilpín look set to be key men in McGrath’s effort to bring Ireland back to winning ways on home soil.

“It remains to be seen whether they have the upper hand,” McGrath said.

“We do appreciate they are full-time professional athletes, and it is up to us to bridge that gap.

“We will be looking at every player in the country to see who can stem the tide that is the recent trend of defeats.”

McGrath, who was flanked by selector John Tobin and runner Mickey Linden yesterday, has vowed to undertake a mammoth search to discover suitable talent this summer.

“That is part of the reason we didn’t want a current inter-county manager to be appointed as manager,” GAA President Sean Kelly said.

“We wanted whomever were the manager and selectors to be seen as totally independent, and not to be seen as favouring any one team.”

McGrath accepts that because of club commitments or people simply opting out, he may not have all the first choice players at his disposal in October.

“There will always be people who can’t come onto the team for various reasons, you have to accept some players are not going to make themselves available.

“What we hope is that most of the players whom we want will make themselves available.”

After studying the past few tests on video McGrath has pinpointed subtle differences that will help him with the selection process.

“It appears an entirely different game than if you were looking at it causally, in the way it is played. But I think the best Gaelic footballers will always make the best International Rules players and, by the best Gaelic footballers, I mean the most courageous, the ones with the most character and most commitment.”

Sean Kelly realises that the timing of county finals and provincial club games have clashed with International Rules in the past, but it is something that is going to be difficult to overcome.

“It is a difficulty, but if a county has a good run in the championship, then a county board has a deadline to meet to finish their championships before the provincial championship starts,” Kelly said.

The president also confirmed that the AFL and GAA are still negotiating the possibility of extending the series to three tests at a later date.