The AFL have learned from Gaelic football, so what we can learn from them?

Mark O'Connor of the Cats and Blake Hardwick of the Hawks compete for the ball during the AFL Second Preliminary Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks. Pic: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

In the arc of Paul Earley’s sporting life, there has always been a special tie to Australia. 

He was recruited by Melbourne and later managed Ireland in the International Rules series. He wanted to explore a new world. They wanted to learn more about his, too.

Earley managed Ireland in the 2013 and 2014 International Rules Series. 

During that time and for a period after, he was in regular conversation with various AFL coaches including three-time Premiership winner Alastair Clarkson and current St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.

“They wanted to look at our game and the trends,” he explains.

“They looked to basketball, soccer, everything. It is fascinating to see in the last year the difference in the kick. If they win a mark or even if they don’t but are kicking from the angle, now they are kicking around the corner. A hook kick. That was never a feature of the game.

“I remember if you kicked around the corner back in my day, you’d be dragged off the ground. They had the punt kick and the spiral, the torpedo. If you look now, every game has a kick around the corner. They have almost perfected it. That has come directly from Gaelic football.

“I sent a message to Nick Walsh, who coached over there, and he said the same. That is coming straight from Gaelic football.” 

There is significant Irish involvement in the AFL Grand Final this Saturday, with first bounce at 5.30am Irish time. 

Mayo’s Oisin Mullin and Kerry’s Mark O’Connor will both feature for Geelong while Kilkenny’s Darragh Joyce is listed as an emergency sub for Brisbane.

For Earley, that is just one of many reasons he will tune in for a sport that he finds endlessly compelling.

“The structure of the league. There are games every week, they have a system of recruitment where the weakest team gets the top pick in the draft. The team that finished bottom this year could be in the top eight in two years’ time.

“They are also very true to their philosophy and culture. It is called Australian Rules football. The rules are clear to ensure it is predominantly a kicking game and reward the skills that are part of it. Kicking, marking, the use of the handball to get out of trouble. There is a clearly defined tackle. The rules are defined to showcase the skills of the game.” 

Earley is a highly qualified coach and a veteran of Eugene McGee’s 2012 Football Review Committee. The AFL has informed many of his core principles.

“We have taken a few things from it, like the mark. I’ve always said at coaching conferences that the Aussie Rules handpass is a better technique. We have the open hand and the closed fist. The open hand is very loose. I would be in favour of the abolishment of the open hand pass. With the fist pass, I do think our technique is wrong. That is something we can learn.

“But the big issue is the tackle. We still have a tackle that is not fit for purpose, certainly one-on-one tackling. It is so difficult to dispossess a player one-on-one without a support player coming in. I don’t know the answer, but I think it is a more robust tackle. In the AFL, that forces player to move the ball. It promotes more kicking.” 

That’s not to say he is advocating for a wholesale adoption of the AFL-style tackle. But by allowing more physicality, it incentivises teams to press out and chase opponents down.

“It forces a change and prevents a slow, ponderous game. That is why I like Aussie rules. There is no slow play. In our game at the moment, it still allows that ponderous, slow buildup. We saw it in the All-Ireland final.” 

In the survey included in the FRC’s final report, the advanced mark remained the least popular change at both County and Club level. 

Earley hopes there is a long-term payoff.

“I spoke to a coach recently who said we need to get rid of it. I think the opposite. We aren’t seeing it because the culture has been not to give away the ball. Coaches weren’t going to radically change. Now we are moving forward. I think we will see teams think about putting a Michael Murphy or a Sean O’Brien from Kerry on the square, kick more and get the most value out of it.

He continues: “We hear it all the time. ‘Recycle. Recycle. Hold the ball.’ People were afraid to kick. That change has to come from coaches or the manager. If the kick is right, we have a high percentage chance to score. For example, Donegal tried it in the first half to Murphy but it skewed off his foot. That was a skill execution error. He was thinking of the right thing. It was the same as Karl Lacey against Mayo. It’s the right idea with the right execution, that time Murphy turned and scored.” 

Which brings him to a more strident conviction. The Football Review Committee has done extraordinary work but the job is far from finished. The AFL may be a professional league, but its permanent Rules Commission offers a model worth emulating.

“We shouldn’t have to rely on an FRC to make changes. We had one back in 2012 and another one now. That was put together because a new president came in who felt the game was going the wrong way. But that group should be a full-time group within the organisation,” says Earley.

“There should be a constant review of the game. It should be ongoing. There should be a group constantly looking at the game and tweaking it to reflect our values and philosophy.

“Too many people say, ‘Leave the rules now. There are too many changes.’ I don’t accept that at all. We need to look at how we protect the fundamentals of the game and what we want to see.”