INTERNATIONAL RULES AUSTRALIA v IRELAND: IRELAND'S PLAYERS touched down in Perth late last night and will train in Subiaco Oval this morning in preparation for Friday's first International Rules Test against Australia.
Six of the panel have yet to arrive due to club commitments at the weekend. Armagh pair, Aaron Kernan and Ciarán McKeever, Kerry's Killian Young, Mayo's Tom Parsons, and Ireland captain Seán Cavanagh are all due in Perth tomorrow for the first series since the internationals were suspended in 2006 after violent scenes at that year's second Test in Croke Park.
The delayed arrivals had caused uncertainty about the possibility of Ireland having a warm-up match before the first Test. At the media briefing to announce the team some weeks ago, Ireland manager Seán Boylan announced he might not proceed with the practice match, as so many players were scheduled to be arriving late.
That however runs contrary to the lessons learned during the last series in Australia three years ago when Ireland lost by a record margin with then manager Peter McGrath having decided to dispense with the practice, partly because of the risk of injury to players.
In October 2003 Tipperary forward Declan Browne was injured during a warm-up match by local player Ashley Prescott and took no part in the series.
Both Ireland and Australia are however expected to have internal matches with around 10 local players from the Perth area - including some Irish footballers with intercounty experience - making up the shortfall in numbers (each country's panel is made up of 27 players) in both camps to allow a full match to take place.
AFL PRO Patrick Keane confirmed the Australian players, who arrived here yesterday afternoon, will be incorporating the practice into today's schedule. "There'll be a practice match around midday (today)," he said, "and training every day except Wednesday, which is off for the players."
Keane added there would be little change in emphasis for the Australians going into a series, which could see the home side become the first to win three successive series after their victories in 2005 and '06.
"The focus of the past three series has been to use the pace of the players so you'll see again that we'll be really putting the emphasis on players under the age of 25."
Asked whether the AFL clubs balked at the new rule, which provides for Australian players suspended to have to serve those suspensions in next season's AFL, Keane was adamant there had been no opposition to the measure. "That hasn't been an issue. The only concern of club coaches is that players should be 100 per cent before playing."
He added that Friday's Test is expected to sell out the Subiaco venue, the capacity of which is just under 40,000.
"The last update we had in the office was that there are 25,000 sold, which leaves about 13,000 and we would hope that they'll be gone in the next few days."
Australian captain Brent Harvey is being quoted in local media as saying that whereas his team would not be over-stepping the line on discipline, neither would they be hesitant in the tackle. "You can't not go hard," he said. "We'll trust all the boys to do the right thing and going by all of the character of the players on the team it's not in anyone's make-up to go out there and throw punches.
"We don't want to jeopardise the series for future players. But you try telling blokes like Shaun Burgoyne and Daniel Motlop to pull out of a contest - you've got no hope."
Finally, it is being speculated here that Australia's captain in the 2006 international rules series, Barry Hall, is considering a move to professional boxing.
The Sydney Swans forward, suspended for seven weeks after breaking an opponent's jaw in April, has been discussing a boxing career with former world title holder Danny Green, who has made an offer of a professional contract to Hall, a former schoolboy boxing champion.
