McDonnell eyes victory in finale
The 2010 captain was bitterly disappointed with the two Test defeats last year and made a vow to go all out to make amends in this his sixth and last series.
He is only halfway towards attaining his goal but after hitting 18 points in last Friday’s 44-point victory, Ireland’s top scorer has the confidence to make it a winning exit.
“It’ll be sad that I’m pulling on the Irish jersey for the last time but over the years I’ve been privileged and proud to have pulled it on,” said the 32-year-old.
“A lot of players go through their career and don’t get that opportunity and I’m grateful that I’ve had it. Certainly, while I will be disappointed it’ll be the last time all I want is to get a result and go out on a high.”
As much as McDonnell knew last year’s series defeat wasn’t a true reflection on the time and effort the Ireland team put in, he didn’t want it to be remembered as his final contribution to the Irish effort.
“We were hurting because of the way we performed last year and, from a personal point of view, I wanted to come back and prove myself in the Rules, as did a lot of the players and the management team.”
While McDonnell exits stage left tomorrow he will do so hoping the series will continue to go on.
“I would be hugely disappointed (were it to end). I think it would take away the opportunity for a lot of players coming up through the ranks to represent their country. If you ask any of the players who made their debut how they felt when they lined up for the national anthem they’d say it was in their top list of achievements.”
He’s not put off by the disappointing attendance in Melbourne.
“I would still feel it has a good future. I knew the first Test only attracted 23,000 but the second Test normally grabs the attention of the public and we’d like to think the Metricon Stadium will be a sell-out. After our performance last week, we’d hope the Irish in Australia will come out and support us.”
Questions have also been asked of Rodney Eade’s selection policy, that he could have chosen a stronger squad with more All-Australians included. McDonnell reckons the same argument could be made about the Ireland team so he thinks the criticism of Eade is unwarranted. “I know there’s been a lot of talk that the Australians didn’t pick their strongest team, their All Star selection, but if you look at our team only three of this year’s All Stars are on it. By no means would I say we’re a weakened team by that. You’ve got to pick whatever players are suited to this game. It’s not Gaelic football and it’s not Australian Rules — it’s a mix of both and the best players in either code are not always suited to it.”
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