The first International Rules game is over with the Irish team winning by one point 45 to 44. While some Aussie Rules fans think its a waste of space, others like myself just like seeing some more football in the year as I am already missing the action.
The new rules and Umpires
The new softed down version of the rules imo was a good thing even though the umpires were still getting used to them, which saw Rodan get pinged for his third bounce after kicking to himself. I liked how the Irish and Aussie umpires did not favour their countries with the Aussie umpire giving a free kick away in the Aussies goal square.
They also handled the yellow card issue well, but what gets me is that in most sports with cards, a yellow card means that the player can be replaced but is sin binned for 10 mins. That is something that needs looking into.
The Bumping Rule
Shoulder charges or bumps are allowed, provided neither player is airborne and the football is no more than 5m away. However, ’shepherding’ or unreasonably charging a player will result in a free kick and/or an order off.
The Irish Team
The Irish simply out played the Aussies which will make a lot of Irish people happy. In watching the game, the Irish lined up a typical Aussie Rules style of game with a big CHF and FF which you kick to and the two (Leighton Glynn & Sean Cavanagh) was the difference as the Aussies had no one to bomb the ball to.
The goalie was also amazing and he quite simply won the game for them including that amazing 2nd quarter stop which saw him charging Murphy and deflecting the ball for an over instead of a 6 point goal.
The Aussie Team
Bock sucked and if he was better than Firrito, God helps us as he let through 3 rather easy goals and was simply out of his depth with poor turn overs - maybe Glenn Jackovich one of the coaches needs to come back.
Rodan, Harvey, Selwood, Hayden and Murphy were the best. While the Aussies won the tackling count (40 odd to 15 odd) they were out played in the tall timber count with Glynn (nicknamed star) & Cavanagh who would be handy pick ups for any AFL side.
Browns bump was awesome and im sure his dad the psycho Mal Brown would be a happy man.
Did you watch the game & what do you think of it?
So did you watch the game? Did you enjoy it and would you go to the game in Victoria this weekend?
Coming up this Thursday we have a surprise. We have managed to get in touch with an Irish blogger who will give us a bit more insight into their game.
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