No International Rules 2007

[An Tarbh]

The International Rules series next season won't take place for reasons that seem hard to beleive based on the report from RTÉ.

Here's the report, see what you make of it yourself.

Originally posted by RTÉ Sport
There will be no International Rules Series in 2007, at junior or senior level, while the GAA prepare a document which will put on record the basis of structure of rules and penalties that the future of the game will be based on.

GAA president Nickey Brennan said that over half the players that had been consulted with were in favour of the hybrid game continuing. Delegates from around the country also spoke for and against the future of the game.

Speaking at a meeting of Central Council on Saturday, Brennan stated that any future for the International Rules game will be dependent on a structure being formulated that will ensure acceptable standards of sportsmanship.

This document, when formulated, will be brought back to Central Council for decision and then forwarded to the AFL for their consideration. Following this it hoped that the AFL and GAA can hold talks on the future of the Series.

Dessie Farrell, GPA chief executive and player's representative on central Council, stated that while there would be some disappointment amongst players that the 2007 Series will not take place, the decision was, in his view, probably a wise one.

Morons, why this can't be worked out before next October is beyond me, this better not be some ploy by the GAA to welsh on paying the costs of next years tour down under, cause they'll have plenty in the coffers from their championship takings, sponsorship revenue and the f***ing money that they're going to get from the IRFU and FAI. ********.

 

[O'Rothlain]

Yeah, No kidding...
10 months should be enough to sort everything out. I think those matches are viatal for the two sports. It's the only time they get some international attention, which in turn should help to bring in bigger sponsers and wider viewership. Idiotic decision.

 

[The TRUTH]

Tis a shame

But on the bright side the cancellation of the IR series now gives the AFL a chance to revamp football at the highest level of all in this country - state of origin. Bring it back!...... it's what all aussie rules fans want.

C'mon Sandgropers!

 

[ak47]

God dammit

i love the combined rules and this series

Its the only time you see an AFL star throw a punch, when he aint at the nightclub.

Although i do not condone it........i still love to watch a good biff

 

[An Tarbh]

i wouldn't be surprised if there's been some lobbying by the clubs to have the series scrapped, they lose their intercounty players for club championship matches because of this series and have been forever whingeing about it, 2 pastings in a row might have something to do with it as well which is quite cowardly, somehow had we won those 2 series I don't think this would be happening, it's an absolute disgrace and shows how pathetic the GAA can be.

 

[The TRUTH]

i wouldn't be surprised if there's been some lobbying by the clubs to have the series scrapped, they lose their intercounty players for club championship matches because of this series and have been forever whingeing about it, 2 pastings in a row might have something to do with it as well which is quite cowardly, somehow had we won those 2 series I don't think this would be happening, it's an absolute disgrace and shows how pathetic the GAA can be.[/b]

Thats how most people see it down here.

The sad thing is that the GPA is overwhelmingly in favour of series continuing.

 

[An Tarbh]

Well I heard something that half the players wanted the series to continue which really surprised me.

To be honest it's looking like the players can't take the flak, unlike GAA matches, the Aussies actually hit the Irish players properly, none of these gay slaps you see in Gaelic football.

I can't imagine the AFL are too pleased with this, it does seem to be a unanimous decision by the GAA.

 

[Prestwick]

Well I heard something that half the players wanted the series to continue which really surprised me.

To be honest it's looking like the players can't take the flak, unlike GAA matches, the Aussies actually hit the Irish players properly, none of these gay slaps you see in Gaelic football.[/b]

Agreed, apart from one or two dubious takedowns (and lets face it, no matter how well you regulate a full on contact sport, you will have accidents or deliberate hits) its just the Australians being really aggressive in how they persue the game.

Rather than whinging about it, the GAA should take a leaf from their Rugby cousins and just clam up, dust themselves down and work out how to meet fire, with fire

And as for the obligatory "one brawl per match" rule, even that is kinda tame. Lets not forget that the NHL in North America is world reknown for having brawls which go on for over 40 minutes or so. The refs can't sin bin or send off all the players because then there wouldn't be a game so, thus, they have to make sense of the situation and dish out tons of penalties balanced to which side threw the more punches! lol

I mean for gods sakes guys, in hockey, the refs just let the players duke it out now! Theres even a plethoria of websites dedicated to just showing the masses hockey fights! So just seeing a load of GAA and AFL players casually tugging at each other's shirts isn't really much to write home about.

My diagnosis? The GAA are making a mountain out of molehill.

Edit: Actually, you know what? Sod it, let the GAA throw their toys out of their pram. I'm just going to pay extra to watch NHL action instead! Ha-haaa!

 

[fcukernaut]

10 months should be enough to sort everything out. I think those matches are viatal for the two sports. It's the only time they get some international attention, which in turn should help to bring in bigger sponsers and wider viewership. Idiotic decision.[/b]

Every organization does this garbage, normally they sort it out at the last minute. I say just chuck them all in a room and lock the doors. No windows, no food, no water, no air conditioning and no toilet. They'll sort it out in a few hours. That's how I'd do it any way.

Lets not forget that the NHL in North America is world reknown for having brawls which go on for over 40 minutes or so.[/b]

Ok, so that's a little exagerated. The longest you'll see a fight go on is about 2 minutes. You get the once-a-year-bench-clearing-team brawl and the once every 5 year goalie fight(Yeah Patrick Roy!). And there are rules to fighting. Both written and unwritten. Basically if you fight it's a five minute penalty, which basically means you go over to the penalty box and sit there for 5 mins but it's not like a yellow card as both teams stay with 5 players, unless you get an instigating penalty and then your team is down to 4 men for 2mins. The players code is you don't fight the star players, unless they start it, and the fights over when you hit the ice. But fighting is becoming far less prevalent in the game.

That's due to a couple of reasons.

One being that the NHL had a labour dispute about a salary cap and lost a whole season over it. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NY Rangers were spending upwards of US$100million and other teams were on the brink of folding. The point is in that season off the brains(and I use this term loosely) from the NHL and the NHLPA came together and thought up rule changes to increase the speed of the game as it had turned to complete **** in the late 90's when a new defensive system was invented that turned 5-4 games into 2-1 borefests. There's a reason why soccer isn't popular in North America.

Anyway the rule changes have sped up the game and teams no longer can afford to keep two goons, brawlers or as they like to call themselves "enforcers". Enforcers are basically just big lumbering guys who can't skate, can't shoot, can't play basically at all; their whole job was to go out and "protect their players". Now the game is so fast that these useless beasts are no longer on teams(about a third still have an enforcer).

Fighting is almost gone from the NHL. Luckily enough there are plenty of minor league and junior teams that fill the void. Find the ECHL or the CHL and you've got yourselves some brawls on skates.

The greatest fight ever in my opinon was at the World Junior Championships(yes players 18 years old and younger). In 1987 when Canada and Russia broke out into a bench clearing brawl(back-up goalies et al). Basically both teams went at it and people who ran the tournament turned the lights off but to no avail. The players fought until they were tired and just couldn't fight anymore. Good stuff I say, here's the link(yes it's really 5:24mins long, enjoy )

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ydbATVriqA

 

[ak47]

isnt the Gaelic league - not paid, not professional???

The AFL has been professional for years...........professionalism means bigger bulkier, weight lifting, protein infested freaks........there is another thread talking about how rugby has changed over the professional era.

The aggressive nature of the aussies is the evolution of the professional status

They will need to go professional to play fire with fire...........at the end of the day the beauty of the Gaelic league is that they are real normal people that dont get paid to play sports...they do it out of there own time.........its a credit to themselves, that they actually turn up to play in this league and another massive pride that they even attempt to play fire with fire.......good on em i say.

I may be going out on a limb here, as i havent checked for a while but i was told last these gaelic fellas have everday jobs.....dont shoot me if i am mistaken

 

[An Tarbh]

they are still amateur and yes there's a huge amount of players with regular jobs, however if you're a top GAA player then you're likely to get very preferential treatment with your job, for example one footballer who works for a bank got a promotion when he had a good season, which gave him far more flexibility for his training, there's far more player endorsements which is making it easier for them not to bust their ass with a 9-5 job. My point is that players these days are far more aware of what is required to be a top GAA player and moreso in football than hurling, players are spending too much time in the gym and not enough time on basic footballing skills, it's no coincidence that as players have got physically stronger that the standard of football has gone down the drains, I know there's some people here who would argue against this point but you only have to look at the facts. I point to the number of wides Ireland kicked in the last 2 series, a disgraceful number, never would have happened, even back in 98 when the series was revived.

I don't really agree that being professional makes you more agressive, that's more of a personality trait imo, I know I'm generalising here but the Australians are tough, hard ********, while we're a bunch of sissies, it's embarassing really and I'm sure plenty of the Irish players don't want to go through that embarassment which only goes to show what a bunch of sissies they really are.

 

[Prestwick]

Ok, so that's a little exagerated....

....The greatest fight ever in my opinon was at the World Junior Championships(yes players 18 years old and younger). In 1987 when Canada and Russia broke out into a bench clearing brawl(back-up goalies et al). Basically both teams went at it and people who ran the tournament turned the lights off but to no avail. The players fought until they were tired and just couldn't fight anymore. Good stuff I say, here's the link(yes it's really 5:24mins long, enjoy )

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ydbATVriqA
[/b]

I stand by my point damn you! :cryy:

Anyway, I think the huge 30 minute brawl between the Montreal Canucks/Frogs and the Qubec Nordiques was the best.

Youtube Link

 

[ak47]

I know I'm generalising here but the Australians are tough, hard ********, while we're a bunch of sissies,
[/b]

Correct on the tough hard ******** - thats our convict heritage - when our ancestors spent their lives running from cops and learning the hard way.....it evolved into what u see today

But ur not sissies either......ur as tough as nuts, and mentally harder than anyone on the planet....in a nutshell Australians have derived from the Irish nature

I think our weather caters for a more outdoor life, which means physically we have evolved....but we have crossbred into more cultures.....thus these days an assortment of lots of things

 

[An Tarbh]

yeah but then you could argue that being exposed to the elements should make our team a bunch of hard ********.

Really starting to sound old here, but gone are the days when the likes of Mick O'Connell would row from Valentia to the mainland for training and matches. He wouldn't have taken any **** from the Aussies.

No denying there's plenty of hard ******** in Ireland, I just don't think that many play football at the highest level, that's all.

 

[The TRUTH]

The aggressive nature of the aussies is the evolution of the professional status
[/b]

Actually the game has become alot less aggressive since the amatuer days of the 70's and 80's where it was common to see a brawl at almost every stoppage and multiple players(and sometimes umpires :lol: ) getting knocked out from huge king hits every game.IMO it's still the most aggressive game around(except for that game they play in florence where they just bash the living shite out of each other), although your less likely to see a punch thrown these days as it usually results in a lengthy suspension.

The problem with the IR series is that there is too big a difference in the sporting cultures of the two codes. Whats deemed to be a fair tackle in Aussie Rules is seen as an act of thuggery by the gailic footballers who dont have any tackling in their game. Also, the bump and ****le before the ball is bounced is seen as bullying to the Irish but is a big part of the game in aussie rules where it is used to gain a psychological edge over your opponent.The Irish boys tend to respond to this ****le and 'rough stuff' by going over the top, kneeing players in the back,head butting,kicking etc..... all of which is grounds for a huge suspension in our game.When both teams are feeling as though the other is guilty of foul play ,tempers will always boil over and the game will quickly turn ugly/out of control (which is what we've seen in the past couple of series).