World Footy News

Talks between AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA)’s president Nickey Brennan, took place in Paris on Thursday night.

It was the first face to face meeting of the two heads of their respective codes since the controversial second test match of International Rules in Croke Pk, Dublin 12 months earlier. That game, played before a full house of 82,000, finished in a convincing victory to Australia but the Irish were incensed by rough play in the first quarter, and called a halt to the series in the immediate aftermath.

Brennan, from the most successful Hurling county in Ireland, Kilkenny, has long indicated he has little personal interest in the hybrid football code, however in the lead up to this meeting he indicated he had to represent all members of the GAA and that there was very strong support for resumption of International Rules from the Gaelic footballers themselves and to some extent from the Irish fans. However he had insisted that the GAA would want to see some rule changes and the consideration of neutral referees – possibly from Rugby League.

Rule changes that take the hybrid code closer to Gaelic Football and further from Australian Football are unlikely however to be well accepted by the Australian fans, who already see the round ball, rectangular field and netted goal as obvious large concessions to the Irish. The Irish contention that the tackle, direct pick up of the ball from the ground, running many metres with two bounces compared to 4 steps and 1 bounce and other more subtle changes from Gaelic football give too much to Australia is lost on many AFL fans who do not get to see Gaelic football on TV.

Both Demetriou and Brennan were in Paris for the World Cup Rugby final although there were reports Demetriou will have to head home before the game to deal with the fall-out from the Ben Cousins – West Coast Eagles saga.

A GAA statement said the talks had been "frank and cordial", but there was no agreement on resuming the series, rather it was "agreed that further discussions were needed before the issue of a resumption could be considered."

Both bodies issued a statement that according to both the GAA and AFL websites: "emphasised their commitment to maintaining the long standing relationship between the two bodies. A second meeting will take place early next year."

However, a story released in the Melbourne Herald Sun suggests the U17 version of the IR series may not resume for some time, if at all. In a statement prior to the meeting with Demetriou, Brennan reflects the angst in some GAA quarters at losing some of their best young talent to AFL ranks. Currently half a dozen Irishmen are on AFL lists.

According to the Herald Sun, Brennan has declared "That series is dead in the water, you can take that as a given... Maybe we were our own worst enemies by putting our best players in the shop window by having that series."