Irish unhappy with aussies stealing their players

[premier]

If you were a capable young Irish Gaelic Football player who had been running around in the game for a few years why wouldn't you want to take on the challenge of a similar code (albeit on the other side of the world) where you could show your skills AND get paid for it ?

Because you play the game in the first place because of something far more important then money ?

I never understand this when i talk to foreigners, i was trying to explain the amateur nature of hurling (and the GAA) to an englishman i met at a hurling match a few months ago. Basically i was after getting a nasty blow to the head and he was there as he'd never seen a hurling match (live) and his girlfriend/wife (Irish) brought him, he was a doctor so decided to have a look and make sure i knew where i was etc !

Anyways .. point in case he couldn't understand why we trained and played as hard as we did for free, especially the matches on telly where you might have a crowd of 80,000 watching the game in Croke Park.

Maybe we'll all just a crowd of eejits that the GAA business model has being using for years for a free "workforce" but .. well i don't think we are

He asked me what would i rather see, Ireland winning the world cup (soccer) or my county winning an All-Ireland. I told him that wasn't even a comparison. I'd rather win a county junior medal with my club then see Ireland winning the world cup, soccer, rugby or anything else.

You have to understand its pride in who you are and where your from. Thats why we play. I couldn't support a team when i had no connection with the players. I know almost all of my counties players personally and my clubs players are all my neighbours and friends.

I know some people won't like the following comment but i just simply cannot understand how people can support a team (man utd, Chelsea etc) where, not only are they not from manchester or chelsea but neither are the players!

It makes no sense to me. When Man Utd wins something, its not manchester winning it, its somebodies money with players from all over the world winning it.

how can you take pride in or support a team which you have none to feck all of a connection with them ?

Anyways ....

Just thought i'd come back here and have a wee look round since its being a while and seen this thread.

Firstly, that article is complete bullshit. Whats a member of the Leinster council doing talking about a Mayo lad in the first place ? Its none of his business. Its also complete bullshit because far far far more Irish lads go to soccer/rugby or simply stop playing the game every year then the AFL has ever taken or will ever likely take from the game. I don't understand why the media keeps talking about this, its completely insignificant.

 

[premier]

Irish = sooks. Flabergasted that they think they deserve respect after the way they've conducted themselves over the last few years.

Whats that supposed to mean ?

 

[Ted Ed Fred]

Whats that supposed to mean ?

All the sooking about "thuggery" every time they lose, the constant talk about chaning the rules more and more towards Gaelic football every year. The outrage every time there's a fight as if their own players are angels not guilty of anything...

 

[peternorth]

All the sooking about "thuggery" every time they lose, the constant talk about chaning the rules more and more towards Gaelic football every year. The outrage every time there's a fight as if their own players are angels not guilty of anything...

yes.

but also it takes two to tango. both sides have been guilty over it.

because the game is a combination of the two codes/rules there will always be gray areas. scrap the series. both codes dont need this to justify their own sport.

when ireland won one year it was because of skill and superior fitness. but when there's a loss its the old amateurs vs professionals debate. another reason to scrap it. too much bad blood now.

 

[Cyclops]

International rules=AFL junket+ a chance to rip the guts out of their sport.

Very nasty, if the Irish have any sense they will discontinue the IR series. Damage may have been done already though.

Imagine if we lost a Cloke, Franklin or McIntosh every year to the Gridiron instead of a superanuated KP once every 5 years? I'd be fricken furious about it.

 

[premier]

All the sooking about "thuggery" every time they lose, the constant talk about chaning the rules more and more towards Gaelic football every year. The outrage every time there's a fight as if their own players are angels not guilty of anything...

- Its not the fighting that causes it mate, its the degree of the fighting. Aussie Rules is a full contact sport, Gaelic football isn't so straightaway the Aussies are going to win in any physical contest purely because of the nature of their training and their game. I mean, compare a soccer player and a rugby player, a soccer player wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with a rugby player for obvious reasons, its similiar between our sports if not as obvious. Gaelic Footballers train for speed/skill, aussie players train for full on contact/speed and skill.

Fights occur in our games too all the time but generally nowhere near what happens in the IR series. Someone gives you a push, you push back and generally thats all. Or in hurling you get the handle of the hurl into the ribs you give it back, you don't escalate it because you both loose (a days work probably!) You get one, you give one and thats it till the next time. Its completely different with the AR players because they seem to require things are always escalated. Its definitely the difference in culture/sport/tradition which causes this and its really just a big misunderstanding by both sides. Watch a gaelic football match with fights in it and you'll see what i mean. Even if two lads are really pissed off with eachother it almost never goes beyond shoving. Just a huge difference in the way players conduct themselves on the field, we're not used to the aussie way and the aussies aren't used to ours.

Ignore the BS calls of thuggery etc thats just the usual "think of the children!" crap you hear in the media. The media says the same crap when something happens in our own games or rugby.

I think the main issue is that from our (mine at least) point of view, a lot of the stuff that happened in last years IR series belonged in a boxing/wrestling ring, not on a football pitch. I like boxing but i want to see football on the field of play not a boxing match. Whereas from your point of view its normal football procedures.

I know its usual in AR but it just doesn't happen that way in Gaelic Football.
Maybe its the amateur nature i.e > I know i have to get up tomorrow morning and go to work and so do the other guys on the field so i don't want to get a black eye/broken nose etc, i'm here to play football.

- About changing the rules, what are you talking about here ? I don't remember any calls for rules changes to bring it closer to gaelic football.

 

[premier]

yes.

but also it takes two to tango. both sides have been guilty over it.

because the game is a combination of the two codes/rules there will always be gray areas. scrap the series. both codes dont need this to justify their own sport.

when ireland won one year it was because of skill and superior fitness. but when there's a loss its the old amateurs vs professionals debate. another reason to scrap it. too much bad blood now.

Lads i think we can all agree that the "we won because of superior ..." and "amateur vs professionalism" is just BS sprouted by the media. Genuine footballing people on both sides would have watched the series and understood how one side won or the other lost.

Genuine footballing (sporting) people don't make excuses like that, there are facts there and then theres the game. The rest, as you just said is media nonsense.

I'm sure you know what i mean, the fecking media in this country. Every fecking year before a ball is thrown in, the media talk about Dublin winning it when in actual fact they aren't near good enough. Its simply to sell their rags.

I'm sure you have the same in your own country don't you ?

Fantastic, bullshit headlines sell papers. Its just an unfortunate fact.

 

[premier]

International rules=AFL junket+ a chance to rip the guts out of their sport.

Very nasty, if the Irish have any sense they will discontinue the IR series. Damage may have been done already though.

Imagine if we lost a Cloke, Franklin or McIntosh every year to the Gridiron instead of a superanuated KP once every 5 years? I'd be fricken furious about it.

Mate honestly, the "players going to AFL" is complete bullshit. Far far far far far more players go to soccer/rugby then has ever or will ever go to AFL.

 

[frankc]

It's hard to respect the GAA when they are a bunch of blouses.

I have never met a bunch of bigger whiners than the GAA. I hope IR rules never comes back.

 

[TigerCraig]

- Its not the fighting that causes it mate, its the degree of the fighting. Aussie Rules is a full contact sport, Gaelic football isn't so straightaway the Aussies are going to win in any physical contest purely because of the nature of their training and their game. I mean, compare a soccer player and a rugby player, a soccer player wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with a rugby player for obvious reasons, its similiar between our sports if not as obvious. Gaelic Footballers train for speed/skill, aussie players train for full on contact/speed and skill.

True, but I don't think it is reaction to fighting/high tackles that annoys Aussie supporters, as much as all the carry on around what we (generally) see as just good hard play - eg. the Pearce tackle on Gerathy, the hip and shoulders to the chest etc (can't remember who laid them - I remeber Robertson did one a couple of years back). Yes they are outside the IR rules, but calling them 'thuggish' perplexes the AFL fan.

 

[premier]

True, but I don't think it is reaction to fighting/high tackles that annoys Aussie supporters, as much as all the carry on around what we (generally) see as just good hard play - eg. the Pearce tackle on Gerathy, the hip and shoulders to the chest etc (can't remember who laid them - I remeber Robertson did one a couple of years back). Yes they are outside the IR rules, but calling them 'thuggish' perplexes the AFL fan.

You have to understand mate what you see as good hard play is completely alien to us. I can't even remember the number of foreigners who were literally disgusted after coming to see a live hurling match at our club.

E.g > A lad puts his hand in the air to catch the sliothar (ball) and another lad smashes the first guys hand with his hurley. To us, its not only normal, its the first guys fault, the guy who swung and hit the hand did absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever. The first guy goes to the sideline, gets his knuckles and hand bandaged and plays on. But yet foreigners who've seen this and were talking to me afterwards were horrified. To us, its less then nothing. Its not even an incident worthy of mention.

I remember we had an English guy who was absolutely mad into Rugby, played for some semi-pro team or something in his youth act as our "medic" for a couple of matches. I got a hurley into the side of my head, frankly because i was stupid, completely my own fault, totally accidental. Ok its a serious enough thing to happen especially considering i don't wear a helmet but it was in no way the other players fault, the english guy genuinely thought the other player should have being banned from playing the game for it which simply confused us to hell.

The tackle on Graham looked really bad to us, to me anyways because his neck seemed to twist in ways i thought was sure to break it when he hit the ground. I'm sure if Graham played AR he would be trained to take tackles like that but the fact is he isn't and it probably made the outcome much worse then if it was an AR player tackling an AR player.

I completely accept and accepted at the time the Aussie perspective that it was normal but only because i've heard the exact same thing said about hurling by foreigners about things completely common and normal to us.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Its not about amateur v professional.

Its about the GAA's bizzarre idea that these players are being stolen from them.

Attention GAA: You don't own anyone.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

If anyone involved in GAA has an issue with GAA players leaving to play other sports then maybe they should start paying their players.

 

[premier]

If anyone involved in GAA has an issue with GAA players leaving to play other sports then maybe they should start paying their players.

Oh my God in heaven. The article is bullshit, AFL is an insignificant threat to GAA players leaving compared to soccer/rugby.

The only reason AFL might be more a threat would be maybe if a certain player never played any other sport then gaelic football, then the next nearest sport in the world would be aussie rules.

This is not the case, most GAA players would also play soccer or to a much lesser extent rugby.

 

[Solstice Raver]

Ah, fook arf phatteh.

If they tried to actually pay their players and stop theatening their tallented youngsters with expulsion from the country for seeking a career I may listen to them whinge. But until then...

Ah, fook arf phatteh.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

If you were a capable young Irish Gaelic Football player who had been running around in the game for a few years why wouldn't you want to take on the challenge of a similar code (albeit on the other side of the world) where you could show your skills AND get paid for it ?

Or alternatively, if you were a capable young Aussie Rules Football player who had been running around in the game for a few years why wouldn't you want to take on the challenge of a similar code such as an NFL career where you could show your skills AND get paid more for it, rather than wait until your Aussie Rules career is over like Darren Bennett, Ben Graham, Nathan Chapman and Sav Rocca?

I have never met a bunch of bigger whiners than the GAA. I hope IR rules never comes back.

Dunno about that. Us Aussies by far the biggest whiners, especially when it comes to things such as the umpiring our games, whether it be footy, cricket, soccer or whatever. It's ingrained into our culture and we're shockers in tis respect.

That said, the GAA are still mighty big whingers.

 

[GoOsH1]

Or alternatively, if you were a capable young Aussie Rules Football player who had been running around in the game for a few years why wouldn't you want to take on the challenge of a similar code such as an NFL career where you could show your skills AND get paid more for it, rather than wait until your Aussie Rules career is over like Darren Bennett, Ben Graham, Nathan Chapman and Sav Rocca?

Mate, if the NFL started poaching players, thats life, it's professional sport, and the players absolute right to choose what game he wants to play. Trying to stop them is futile and dumb at the end of the day.
Having said that, it seems most players only want to make enough money to live comfortably, while playing the game they love. If the Irish offered the same, even if it was half of what an AFL player gets paid, I'd be surprised if any of them would leave, unless it was simply for the challenge and to live in another country for a few years, hardly any would go for the extra cash.
But when they don't get a penny playing their current sport it's no surprise a lot of them seriously consider it.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Mate, if the NFL started poaching players, thats life, it's professional sport, and the players absolute right to choose what game he wants to play. Trying to stop them is futile and dumb at the end of the day.
Having said that, it seems most players only want to make enough money to live comfortably, while playing the game they love. If the Irish offered the same, even if it was half of what an AFL player gets paid, I'd be surprised if any of them would leave, unless it was simply for the challenge and to live in another country for a few years, hardly any would go for the extra cash.
But when they don't get a penny playing their current sport it's no surprise a lot of them seriously consider it.

Most decent GAA players earn plenty enough to live comfortably. They have jobs which provide. One local county-level hurler I know sells cars, earns €70,000 + commissions (about $120,000Aus +), as well as some nicely paid sponsorships. Another is an engineer and earns double that, whilst another just runs one of the local pubs so who knows what that's worth. One thing's for certain - all of their fans can rest totally assured that there is absolutely no way that they will ever betray their colours by going to play for any neighbouring county.

You make it sound like the famine still abounds. Life in Ireland is very sweet for their sports stars. When exchange rates are taken into account Tadgh Kennelly would probably be the only AFL Irishmen currently earning more than the highest paid GAA stars. I would question whether Setanta O'Hailpin's bank account is actually bigger than his brother (Cork hurling champ) Sean Og's. It's just that it's not the GAA that are paying them - Martin Clarke's countrymen do their 20-50 hours work per week elsewhere rather than down at the Lexus Centre.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

dosmt matter, they'll get drunk and forget all about it, like didak

Ha, not wrong there. They don't mess around with light beer in Ireland. More drunks per capita than people.

 

[greennick]

Why are so many people on this board such intollerant w***ers? I can't see how all these people sit here and talk about how the Irish are such panzies. You can not possibly expect a Gaelic footballer to take an AFL footballer on in a tough physical contest. It would be like putting the WA Under 18's against the best of the AFL. Not only will they get smashed, they will likely end up broken. That is why we have the compromised rules, to even the game out. Problem is, the Irish first learnt how to beat the rules (more speedy players) and then the next series the Australians did (even speedier players). I don't know if we should bring the concept back (that is a seperate issue), but we should at least respect where the Irish are coming from when they play us.

We should not look down on their amateur league but realise that maybe ours would be better if it was still one. So many people complain about how much better it used to be. However, you couldn't go back to the old ways without also going back to a relatively amateur league like we used to have. One like the Irish have maintained.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Why are so many people on this board such intollerant w***ers? I can't see how all these people sit here and talk about how the Irish are such panzies. You can not possibly expect a Gaelic footballer to take an AFL footballer on in a tough physical contest. It would be like putting the WA Under 18's against the best of the AFL. Not only will they get smashed, they will likely end up broken. That is why we have the compromised rules, to even the game out. Problem is, the Irish first learnt how to beat the rules (more speedy players) and then the next series the Australians did (even speedier players). I don't know if we should bring the concept back (that is a seperate issue), but we should at least respect where the Irish are coming from when they play us.

We should not look down on their amateur league but realise that maybe ours would be better if it was still one. So many people complain about how much better it used to be. However, you couldn't go back to the old ways without also going back to a relatively amateur league like we used to have. One like the Irish have maintained.

Under 18 Aussie Rules players have the added benefit of having played for a decade or so with hard tackling a part of the game, thereby instilling an instinct for such a contest.

Just like the Irish hurlers have developed an instinct for self-preservation in that sport that would render a newcomer very, very hurt.

I'd prefer to play the Irish in a game of pure Irish football, completely within their rules. Take all of the ambiguity out completely. And I have no doubt that within two or three year we could put together a team and a style of play that would be very competitive, if not highly successful. Blokes like Pearse, Deledio, Corey, Ablett, Franklin, Brennan etc would all be exceptional Irish footballers.

 

[peternorth]

Under 18 Aussie Rules players have the added benefit of having played for a decade or so with hard tackling a part of the game, thereby instilling an instinct for such a contest.

Just like the Irish hurlers have developed an instinct for self-preservation in that sport that would render a newcomer very, very hurt.

I'd prefer to play the Irish in a game of pure Irish football, completely within their rules. Take all of the ambiguity out completely. And I have no doubt that within two or three year we could put together a team and a style of play that would be very competitive, if not highly successful. Blokes like Pearse, Deledio, Corey, Ablett, Franklin, Brennan etc would all be exceptional Irish footballers.

if we're gonna play them at pure gaelic why not send australia's best gaelic players. we dont need afl players playing

 

[premier]

if we're gonna play them at pure gaelic why not send australia's best gaelic players. we dont need afl players playing

.....

That would be the equivalent of sending Irelands best Aussie Rules players to play the AFL guys at pure Aussie Rules.

 

[peternorth]

.....

That would be the equivalent of sending Irelands best Aussie Rules players to play the AFL guys at pure Aussie Rules.

dont you think that gaelic players here would be more suited to gaelic football than AFL players? for a start both sides are amateurs.

 

[Bloben]

The GAA administrators must have significantly fat pockets... They make significant money through gate takings, tv deals etc. however give nothing to the players that get the fans through the gate in the first place.

This may be why they are unhappy about the players leaving - it may force them to start paying adequate wages to the players and end their cash cow!

Stuff the greedy buggers!