World Footy News

The following is an edited extract of the release from the Victorian Premier's office today.

Premier John Brumby today announced Australia would play Ireland at the MCG on Friday 31 October with Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse to coach the Australian team. “The match will be a celebration of the close relationship between Ireland and Australia and the great sporting rivalry between the two countries,” Mr Brumby said.

“Melbourne is the undisputed major events capital of the world with a year round calendar of sporting and cultural events. This weekend will further boost this reputation. “We expect a huge number of visitors from Ireland, England and from across Australia to converge on Melbourne for what promises to be a fantastic long weekend of major sporting events.

“I expect there will be a great buzz around Melbourne which will provide significant economic benefits to Victoria and be a great boost for our hotels, restaurants, taxis, bars and shops.”
The weekend of events will feature:
• Friday 31 October – Australia v Ireland, International Rules, MCG
• Saturday 1 November – Derby Day, Flemington Racecourse
• Sunday 2 November – Australia v England, Rugby World Cup, Telstra Dome
• Tuesday 4 November – Melbourne Cup, Flemington Racecourse

Today’s announcement follows discussions held between the Victorian Government and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Dublin last year, and meetings in Dubai between the AFL and GAA, which were instrumental in ensuring the series would go ahead.

Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said the Brumby Government was delighted to be supporting the International Rules match, the first to be held in Melbourne since 2005. “Victoria has strong ties with Ireland and with the match to be held at the home of football it is a fitting way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of football in Australia,” Mr Holding said. “The match will provide the opportunity to showcase Melbourne to an important tourist market and we look forward to welcoming the Irish team to Melbourne for this exciting match.”

Melbourne’s year round major sporting events calendar includes the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, Australian Open Tennis, Boxing Day Test, Spring Racing Carnival, AFL Grand Final and the Socceroos World Cup qualifiers.

AFL Football Operations Manager Adrian Anderson said a Test match would also be played at Subiaco, on October 24 or 25 as the Australian team aimed to defend the Cormac McAnallen trophy for a third successive series, following victories in Australia in 2005 and Ireland in 2006. "The support of the Victorian government was pivotal in returning this match to Melbourne and we are extremely grateful to both the former Premier Steve Bracks and Premier Brumby,” Mr Anderson said.

"The AFL was greatly appreciative to Kevin Sheedy for the outstanding job he did as Australian coach in 2005 and 2006. "It was extremely important to us that a current senior AFL coach was able to take on this role, for both his understanding of the current tactics at the elite level of the game and also for knowing how to manage players and their workload with the full confidence of all the AFL clubs, particularly with players set to begin their pre-season training when these matches will be on.

"Mick has been at the forefront of coaching for more than two decades and his record stands up with the greats in history, with two premierships and nearly 600 games as a senior coach, behind only Jock McHale and Kevin Sheedy.” Mr Anderson said the AFL would now sit down with Malthouse to work out the remaining key appointments to the Australian team coaching staff, and the team's program for the post-season in the lead-up to the two-Test series.

Mick Malthouse said he was honoured to take on the role as Australian coach for the series."The chance to work with the best players from across the competition is something that has me very excited about this role,” Mr Malthouse said. "Australia and Ireland have always contested very close matches since these series were begun in 1998 and we will need to play extremely well to overcome the challenge they will put to us."

Nickey Brennan, President of the GAA, said he was looking forward to the resumption of the series and expressed his delight that the Victorian Government would be supporting the Test match in Melbourne. Mr Brennan said it was a great chance for the many Irish people based in Melbourne to see their heroes in the flesh. "We hope that as many people as possible make the trip to support the Ireland team and we can build a sell-out attendance at the MCG for what will be the deciding game in the Series," Mr Brennan said.