GAA has not evolved, declares AFL coach Eade

AUSTRALIA coach Rodney Eade has claimed that Gaelic football has stood still in the past century and hopes the tactical developments made in the AFL in recent years will give his side a distinct advantage over Ireland in the International Rules series.

While so-called purists haven’t always been in favour, there can be little doubt that GAA inter-county managers have embraced different tactics in the past decade. Yet Eade is adamant his players’ comfort with zonal play, high interchange rotations and ever-evolving set-ups give them the upper hand over the visitors.

“They have had their thoughts for 100 years and they’ve stayed the same, whereas our game’s evolved and our thinking has evolved,” said Eade on the AFL’s official website.

“I think we’ve got a bit more willingness to try different things. They’re very much about sticking to the tried and true, the way it’s been played for a long time. We’ll probably try and push the boundaries at times.”

Eade has already given notice that he will employ forms of AFL-style zones to shut down Ireland’s attacking opportunities, even though the hybrid code is different to either game.

“When you set up zones [in Aussie Rules], it’s usually from a stoppage situation where you’ve got a time lapse to be able to do that. But International Rules is non-stop.

“Even from point kicking in the AFL, even if it’s a quick play-on, there’s still a two or three second lag, whereas with this game there’s none. Maybe the zone starts a little bit deeper, further up the ground.”

With only four players that have previous Rules experience at senior level (Brad Green, James Frawley, David Wojcinski and Stephen Milne), and three more that lined out in the U17 version (Shaun Grigg, Angus Monfries, Andrew Swallow), Eade knows the round ball could provide problems.

A number of players convened at Whitten Oval for optional training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and Eade declared kicking and handling skills will be emphasised when the full squad trains for the first time tomorrow.

“Obviously Ireland have got their issues with parts of this game that aren’t in theirs, like tackling and the physicality of it, and obviously with us, playing with a round ball is the biggest adjustment we’ve got to make.

“Being able to control it and kick it and get it to where we want it to go; and also the bouncing of it — it bounces really high when it hits the deck.”

The Australian coaching staff will pick their captain after the squad has travelled to Torquay for a training camp on Sunday evening. They will then return to Melbourne for a full-scale practice match on Tuesday, ahead of the first test at Etihad Stadium on Friday.

The Irish squad will have its first training session at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday ahead of the series opener.

The second test will be played at the Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, on November 4.