What the Irish Media Have To Say About Last Night

[Bullies_06]

Exactly. The irish started as many fights as the aussies. johnson should be embarassed from what he did. But he is a Jacana boy so what do you expect (anyone who has played against Jacana would know what i'm talking about)

McLoed is a star i wish he didn't play Adelaide.

i hear ya

 

[O Grobbecker]

So what about the kick to the Aussie players nuts - was that nice and "sporting"?
.

What kick to the nuts ? did you see it ? Has it been shown on television ? You've just picked that up from other threads and present it as a fact.

 

[Helix]

What kick to the nuts ? did you see it ? Has it been shown on television ? You've just picked that up from other threads and present it as a fact.

Ahh, yeah. It has been shown plenty. Perhaps you should have watched the telecast? Hodge got kicked in the crotch as the ref was separating a grapple between him and an Irish player.

 

[moistie]

What kick to the nuts ? did you see it ? Has it been shown on television ? You've just picked that up from other threads and present it as a fact.

Yep, Hodge was almost lifted off the ground by an Irish player lying on the ground. It wasn't a kick but it was definately forceful. He got mightily angry after it as well.

 

[Glasgow Celtic]

Yep, Hodge was almost lifted off the ground by an Irish player lying on the ground. It wasn't a kick but it was definately forceful. He got mightily angry after it as well.

thats what happens whe oz players physically intimidate and get violent with their opponents, he had it coming to him.

 

[Mead]

thats what happens whe oz players physically intimidate and get violent with their opponents, he had it coming to him.

The utter illogic in this is just boggling. Hodge was wrestling on the ground with his opponent, his opponent planted a (studded :S ) boot in his plums, Hodge got bloody angry as any man possessing cajones in both a literal and figurative sense would be, an enormous melee ensured and the game got extremely physical thereafter.

The irish attempted to give as good as they got, and they weren't up to it. That's really all there is to it.

 

[Fire]

thats what happens whe oz players physically intimidate and get violent with their opponents, he had it coming to him.

HAHAHAHAHAH!!!


I cant believe you said that. You bring shame to all Irish supporters.

Bloody hell, a boot in the nads would make Johnson's disgraceful coathanger look clean

 

[clashoftheash]

the first link goes to the worst article ive ever read, absoluetely disgracefully written. the australian keeper is reffered to as 'Justin Fletcher' and one of the irish players, Podrick Joyce had 2 different spellings of his name 'Pauric' and 'Padraic.' shocking

Padraic, Padraig, Patrick = Same name. Just different spelling.

I agree, its bad. Most of the match was enjoyable and had some great football.

 

[clashoftheash]

Having attended these games since the start, last night's affair only differed to any other game in Melbourne in one way - we actually picked a team to win. After years of seeing Richo et al lumbering after the raw boned Irish speedsters trying to knock their blocks off, it was great to see a good ( not the best by some distance ) selection of quick , strong players do the business. As has been suggested, a few AFL coaches would revolutionise the game in Ireland if employed. Tactically, the Irish were pantsed and looked stunned generally. If we pick the same type of player - and convince the likes of Judd, Burgoyne etc to get involved, we will not be touched.

About revolutioning the game in Ireland, i really doubt that. See one of the major problems nowadays with Gaelic Football is very lately (Last 5 years) there has being much much more emphasis on speed, agility over the "hard" men. Rules on contact etc have become 100 times stricter then they were 10 years ago in my opinion.

See, i know a lot of you think that Gaelic Football is a non-contact sport because we don't have your rugby style tackling. The Tackle in Gaelic Football can't be like yours because the sport here is more a community thing then an actual "sport" in the sense you think of it. We don't want to exclude anyone because of size etc from the game so our tackle had to correct itself to that.(Manual worker = bigger/more physical then office worker etc that kind of thing).

Nowadays there is the side to side tackling and you can hit as hard as you like but it must be side to side. 5 years ago games were much much rougher, much more tougher with much larger players. Emphasis was on strength and high ball catching (like in AFL) but that has all changed.

Btw how can you say you wouldn't be touched by us ? We have each won 5 series each now. I know you gave us a hammering this year but we hammered you by 50 points just last year.

This year we had all light, fast, speedy fella's (Which i thought was stupid). We had no big fellas and i guarantee you we do, or at least did have the kind of players who could stand up to the Aussie Physicality. Andy Tohill for example. (He played in 2000-2001 i think)

 

[Total Power]

Why were my posts deleted, congratulating Australia? That was odd.

What I said was well done Australia - faster, fitter, stronger and more skilfull this year. It was our turn last year and we'll wait our turn next year. Well done again - the fighting etc didn't affect the result in the slightest.

As for clashoftheash - you are a complete moron who knows absolutely nothing about the game of gaelic football. Your player analysis yesterday was a complete joke and cringingly inaccurate, an embarrassment and you know that if that was posted on the gaaboard you'd be discredited completely. Please shut up.

cheers mate, thanks for being honest. I am not with chris johnson in this but i agree with you, it wouldnt have affected the result. Carn the Aussies.

 

[clashoftheash]

As for clashoftheash - you are a complete moron who knows absolutely nothing about the game of gaelic football. Your player analysis yesterday was a complete joke and cringingly inaccurate, an embarrassment and you know that if that was posted on the gaaboard you'd be discredited completely. Please shut up.

Go ******** yourself you stupid bastard.

I apoligised for what i said about benny coulter.

And what the hell do you know about football ? How many All-Irelands have Tyrone won ? Oh that'd be 2 wouldn't it ?

 

[myty]

I'm in shock also, I'm with both of you. I was there and when it happened the crowd around me (made up of 16yo's) thought it was the greatest thing ever. Personally i was disgusted and embarassed. We thrashed them in the first game, and by that stage were thrashing them again..there was no need to resort to thuggery. Low dog effort i thought, especially for someone given the honor of captaining their country. Takes the gloss off a great series. As soon as it happened the first thing I thought was, well...there goes the IR concept.
These guys are amatures and earn nothing for privilage to play for their country, they don't need to pay their way to Australia for the absolute suitcase to beaten out of them. And for those who say, be a man, thats what we cop in AFL every week, don't be a wuss. When was the last time you saw something like that on a AFL field? mid 70's perhaps?

Totally agree. I was a big fan of the IR concept but after going on Friday night its just an embarassement. The actions of the players, the actions of the crowd. An English friend of mine who has been living in Australia for a number of years and also went Friday night, said it was the closest sporting event to the bad old days of English soccer that he's been to while he's been here. That can't be a good thing?

 

[OldLion]

About revolutioning the game in Ireland, i really doubt that. See one of the major problems nowadays with Gaelic Football is very lately (Last 5 years) there has being much much more emphasis on speed, agility over the "hard" men. Rules on contact etc have become 100 times stricter then they were 10 years ago in my opinion.

See, i know a lot of you think that Gaelic Football is a non-contact sport because we don't have your rugby style tackling. The Tackle in Gaelic Football can't be like yours because the sport here is more a community thing then an actual "sport" in the sense you think of it. We don't want to exclude anyone because of size etc from the game so our tackle had to correct itself to that.(Manual worker = bigger/more physical then office worker etc that kind of thing).

Nowadays there is the side to side tackling and you can hit as hard as you like but it must be side to side. 5 years ago games were much much rougher, much more tougher with much larger players. Emphasis was on strength and high ball catching (like in AFL) but that has all changed.

Btw how can you say you wouldn't be touched by us ? We have each won 5 series each now. I know you gave us a hammering this year but we hammered you by 50 points just last year.

This year we had all light, fast, speedy fella's (Which i thought was stupid). We had no big fellas and i guarantee you we do, or at least did have the kind of players who could stand up to the Aussie Physicality. Andy Tohill for example. (He played in 2000-2001 i think)

As this is probably the only sporting contest in the world that attempts to combine two codes with unique cultures, esp. in terms of what constitutes a contest, I feel that we're finally getting to see enough equality in the basic skills to start to examine tactics outside of what's been normally served up - Aussies reckon they can physically 'pressure', Irish reckon they can run and use their skills advantage ( round ball, ground size etc ). And the main reason is that finally Australia are actually picking 'horses for courses'. The games this year were dominated by the inability of Ireland to generate consistant run out of the back half .. and I put that down to disciplined defence, great use of interchange to keep the mid field refreshed and good matchups. These tactics are all too familiar in AFL so players could deliver. The only way to break this down is with greater skill ( esp. field kicking where Ireland were quite poor ) and tactically .. and I saw no attempt to do that. So I wait to see if a) we pick a similar team next time and b) what Ireland do.

For example, the following article could be written about AFL..

if Australian players can become so good at a skill they neither nurture nor need for the rest of the year, why is the standard of kicking so poor in Gaelic football?
Could it be that the obsession with fitness, endurance, hand-passing and crab-like movements across the pitch have become so pervasive that the basic skill of kicking the ball is being sacrificed?

John Tobin, Mickey Whelan and Larry Tompkins, assistant coaches to Pete McGrath on this year's tour, all have very distinct views on the subject.

Tobin has a suggestion that he feels would make Gaelic football more direct. "I would be in all in favour of preventing the ball being passed back once a team is in the opposition half," he explains. ( sounds familiar ! )

"It's daft that the ball can be worked up to the half-forward line, only to see it fed backwards through midfield and the half-backs. That's becoming increasingly common and is damaging Gaelic football as a spectacle."

Anyway, this was the point I was struggling towards ..

..That's why it would be extremely interesting if a top Australian Rules coach was let loose on Gaelic football. Just as Australia and New Zealand have always re-defined the parameters for Rugby Union, there is no doubt that the Aussies would bring a new dimension to Gaelic football.
The GAA have many excellent coaches, but they're drawing from a parochial well, with no exposure to international influences. That, in turn, has led to a degree of tactical stagnation.

It would be extremely interesting if a top Australian Rules coach was let loose on Gaelic football

The ease with which the Australians mastered the art of kicking the round ball in a short space of time suggests that there would be a lot more to come if they went about perfecting all the skills of Gaelic football.

"You'd have to be impressed by their kicking skills. It's as if they went away with a bag of footballs and came back as good kickers. There's a lesson there for everybody playing Gaelic football," said John Tobin.

I disagree with your notion that AFL excludes 'body types'. In fact, it's one of it's strengths in junior ranks, esp. in kids who love the release of a contest in a team environment. We have our communities too - big and small, where sport is central and they are inclusive.

 

[O'Neill]

Go ******** yourself you stupid bastard.

I apoligised for what i said about benny coulter.

And what the hell do you know about football ? How many All-Irelands have Tyrone won ? Oh that'd be 2 wouldn't it ?

Ok, firstly who is this Andy Tohill you talk about?

And Tomas O'Se, our 27 year old Player of the Year in 2004 and in the running for player of the year in 2005? You reckon he's old, not even making the Kerry team anymore? Really? Too old? You're a complete moron.

You've never heard of Mickey McVeigh, the Irish goalkeeper? Then why on earth are you commenting on it. McVeigh has been in the top 3 keepers in Ireland for a decade.

So Matty Forde did very little last year and this year? Really? He didn't take Wexford to the National League final this year then, almost defeating Tyrone on his own in the semis? He didn't take Wexford to the Murphy Cup final? I'll not even start on last year to save you face.

O hAlpin nearly retired has he? At 28, in his prime? And this is meant to be your game.

Please, shut up.

 

[clashoftheash]

Ok, firstly who is this Andy Tohill you talk about?

Shows what you know about Gaelic football doesn't it.

When did you start following it ? when Tyrone won their first All-Ireland ?

And Tomas O'Se, our 27 year old Player of the Year in 2004 and in the running for player of the year in 2005? You reckon he's old, not even making the Kerry team anymore? Really? Too old? You're a complete moron.

I can admit when i'm wrong. I was thinking of Dara.

McVeigh has been in the top 3 keepers in Ireland for a decade.

Yeah thats why he performed so well in Oz was it ? You think every player in Ulster is "In the top best" in Ireland.

I'd rather see Cluxton there (And i hate Cluxton).

So Matty Forde did very little last year and this year? Really? He didn't take Wexford to the National League final this year then, almost defeating Tyrone on his own in the semis?

Because everyone takes the league seriously

He has missed such easy scores, bad passing of the ball and his play in general. Hes not the man he was 3 years ago.

He didn't take Wexford to the Murphy Cup final? I'll not even start on last year to save you face.

And beaten by Tipperary one of the super powers of football.

O hAlpin nearly retired has he? At 28, in his prime? And this is meant to be your game.

Tell me genius, why doesn't O hAlpin play football ?

And if you payed any attention to the game you'd notice Sean is getting slower all the time. Lot of mistakes this year compared to last.

He had an accident with his legs a while ago, i'd say his legs aren't going to be able to keep him going as long as someone who hadn't had.

 

[O'Neill]

Shows what you know about Gaelic football doesn't it.

When did you start following it ? when Tyrone won their first All-Ireland ?



I can admit when i'm wrong. I was thinking of Dara.



Yeah thats why he performed so well in Oz was it ? You think every player in Ulster is "In the top best" in Ireland.

I'd rather see Cluxton there (And i hate Cluxton).



Because everyone takes the league seriously

He has missed such easy scores, bad passing of the ball and his play in general. Hes not the man he was 3 years ago.



And beaten by Tipperary one of the super powers of football.



Tell me genius, why doesn't O hAlpin play football ?

And if you payed any attention to the game you'd notice Sean is getting slower all the time. Lot of mistakes this year compared to last.

He had an accident with his legs a while ago, i'd say his legs aren't going to be able to keep him going as long as someone who hadn't had.

Will I do the honours? The only reason i'm doing this to make sure the Aussie don't think you represent us, in Ireland.

1) It's Anthony Tohill. Not Andy, not Tony, Anthony, my lad.
2) Even Dara - he was Kerry's best player in this year's All-Ireland Final!! Fool.
3) Nope, your remark on McVeigh suggests you're a teenager. Ask an adult about McVeigh
4) Mattie Forde is getting better by the year. Tell us about these missed scores? As for winning the league. Kerry won it in 2004 and then won the Championship. Tyrone won it in 2003, and guess what, then won the Championship. Armagh won it in 2005, and reached the Championship semis. You simply haven't a clue and I suggest to stop commenting on Gaelic football now. It is embarrassing us.

 

[clashoftheash]

1) It's Anthony Tohill. Not Andy, not Tony, Anthony, my lad.

You googled didn't you ?

2) Even Dara - he was Kerry's best player in this year's All-Ireland Final!! Fool.

Bull********. Cooper was without a doubt the best.

3) Nope, your remark on McVeigh suggests you're a teenager. Ask an adult about McVeigh

The last five years yeah ? Tell me how many Ulster Championships and All-Irelands have Down won in the last 5 years ?

4) Mattie Forde is getting better by the year.

The same ********ty passing and inability to go and get the ball was evident in his play for Ireland as it has become in his play for Wexford.

He used to be far better.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

if Australian players can become so good at a skill they neither nurture nor need for the rest of the year, why is the standard of kicking so poor in Gaelic football?


It would be extremely interesting if a top Australian Rules coach was let loose on Gaelic football

The ease with which the Australians mastered the art of kicking the round ball in a short space of time suggests that there would be a lot more to come if they went about perfecting all the skills of Gaelic football.

"You'd have to be impressed by their kicking skills. It's as if they went away with a bag of footballs and came back as good kickers. There's a lesson there for everybody playing Gaelic football," said John Tobin.

I disagree with your notion that AFL excludes 'body types'. In fact, it's one of it's strengths in junior ranks, esp. in kids who love the release of a contest in a team environment. We have our communities too - big and small, where sport is central and they are inclusive.

There are some flaws to your reasoning,

The kicking in Gaelic football is quite good, it's standard shouldnt be judged on the IR series.

What is not taken into account is the actual rules and playing style of Gaelic Football that are not seen in the IR games.

In Gaelic Football you do not look to hit a man on his chest but to place it in front of him or into open space so he may run onto it.

Why?

Because hitting a man on a chest gives no major advantage as there's no stoppage required when a mark is taken and it gives the defender an easier task to spoil him.


Kicking the round ball isn't actually that hard, it merely requires a simple change of mindset from shifting to kicking with the out and instep of the boot rather than along the line of tongue to toe and not trying to kick the skin off it.

The hardest aspect for people not brought up on gaelic is the lifting and soloing skills.

These are the skills an AFL coach couldnt influence.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

Boys. Boys, Boys stop fighting.

Everyone knows Munster produces the most All Ireland winners in Hurling and Football

 

[Let_it_long]

Will I do the honours? The only reason i'm doing this to make sure the Aussie don't think you represent us, in Ireland.

1) It's Anthony Tohill. Not Andy, not Tony, Anthony, my lad.
2) Even Dara - he was Kerry's best player in this year's All-Ireland Final!! Fool.
3) Nope, your remark on McVeigh suggests you're a teenager. Ask an adult about McVeigh
4) Mattie Forde is getting better by the year. Tell us about these missed scores? As for winning the league. Kerry won it in 2004 and then won the Championship. Tyrone won it in 2003, and guess what, then won the Championship. Armagh won it in 2005, and reached the Championship semis. You simply haven't a clue and I suggest to stop commenting on Gaelic football now. It is embarrassing us.

Your right on the first two.

Never rated McVeigh I have to say but thats a personal opinion.

Matty was poor this year by his own standards. Best year was last year when he started with 5-4 against us and got better from there.

And your right, league form and championship form are coming into line all the time.

 

[clashoftheash]

And your right, league form and championship form are coming into line all the time.

Many managers use the league as a testing competition to throw in players to see how they may behave in the championship. I don't think its taken as seriously as you think.

 

[O'Neill]

Your right on the first two.

Never rated McVeigh I have to say but thats a personal opinion.

Matty was poor this year by his own standards. Best year was last year when he started with 5-4 against us and got better from there.

And your right, league form and championship form are coming into line all the time.

Mattie Forde in 2005:

League

v Offaly 1-6
v Armagh 1-6
v Sligo 0-7
Player of the month for February
v Galway 0-4
v Laois 1-5
v Tyrone 1-3
v Armagh 0-6

Championship:

1-8 v Carlow
(1-7 v Kerry friendly)
0-4 v Dublin
0-7 v Monaghan

Now, that's what I call a good season, even by Forde's standards. It wasn't his fault he plays for Wexford.

clashoftheash - As for Cooper being the 'best' Kerry player in the AIF, I suggest you watch it again, not that it'd do you any good. Dara O'Se had his best game in a Kerry shirt in years.

Also, because you play for a county that doesn't win All-Irelands, doesn't mean you're not a good player. It's not McVeigh's fault he plays for Down. Still a bloody excellent keeper.

 

[Nandoz]

Watching the series made me even more pumped for the next one.

Now we can spill Irish blood on home soil!

 

[WTTF]

The irish attempted to give as good as they got, and they weren't up to it. That's really all there is to it.

summed up beautifully in a nutshell.............couldn't agree more.

 

[mark73]

"Nicky Davis", "Justin Fletcher" and "D Canciracuso"?! Wtf?!

If they can't even get the players' names right, you can't really take the rest of what they say very seriously.

Other than the Johnson coat-hanger,I thought the agrression was on the money.The Irish struggled with it but I don't see how that is a poor reflection on the Australian side.Thats like Wayne Carey being judged harshly because he was better than anyone else.Maybe in future they should pick a side more suited to Australia than the one that took the field.
I know its not fully "international",but its still international sport and in international sport where there is contact,at some stage you're going to cop it.The Irish were just completely outclassed in every facet of IR this time and I think their attitude,whilst having reason to be annoyed about Chris Johnson,has also probably got a fair bit to do with having their nose out of joint.
And when you know that that would be the case,I don't know why you'd bother listening to what their media had to say.I thought Kennelly pretty much summed up their media.Wonder what his gonna say to his Swan teammates.