World Footy News

As part of an ongoing series worldfootynews.com will preview, in no particular order, each of the competing nations in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup. First up, the men from the Emerald Isle. Later, as the Cup draws nearer, we'll put together all the tips from the WFN staff to get a consolidated view of how we think the teams will go. The Irish return for their third International Cup and the Warriors are planning a fierce onslaught to return to the Grand Final after bowing out in the semis in 2005. Although the coaching staff are a fresh set of faces they still regard 2005 as leaving behind unfinished business.

The new coach for their third Cup tilt is Melburnian Roger Clarke. The 32 year old played in the VAFA (Victorian amateurs) and spent the last two and half years in Ireland. worldfootynews.com spoke with Clarke about his objectives for the upcoming tournament.

"Our team objective is obviously to win the Cup and we are not going to Melbourne to come second. We have some unfinished business following on from 2005".

"We have put a lot of hard work into the touring side with a lot of money and time spent on developing players' fitness and skills. We are a tight-knit group of players that all share our common objective of winning the IC2008. Our players are committed to each other and to the tournament and will play an exciting style of Aussie rules football".

"In regards to our team, our team continuously revolves so until the team lodgement with the AFL it will not be final at this stage. We have many new exciting players in the squad that are sure to create some excitement during the IC2008". See Irish Warriors to bring powerful squad for our last update.

"I have not been involved with the squad in any of the previous World Cups (sic) so the entire coaching staff including myself, are treating this as a new campaign. What happened in the past cups is irrelevant to us at this point. A lot has changed in the 3 years and we are expecting the competition to be harder and more advanced than last time. I would like to think that we are however, better prepared than last time. I think the main threats are from NZ, PNG and the USA although I think if you play for your country you can not discount any side as it brings out the best in any player. On any given day, any team could cause an upset".

The Country and Australian football

An island off the northwest coast of Europe and adjacent to Britain, population just over 4 million, split between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, though footy is essentially governed by the one organisation, ARFLI, which oversees a five team league in 2008.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Besides a sprinkling of Rugby experience, most football fans will be well aware that most of the Irish players bring plenty of experience in Gaelic football, the code most similar to Australian football. This is something of a wildcard, as in any given season ARFLI may recruit a top-notch player that quickly adapts to Aussie Rules. Given an all-round solid squad, three or four such players could make several goals difference and get the Irish over the line against the other top contenders. Whether such players will emerge remains to be seen, but has historically proved very useful and allowed the Irish to "punch above their weight", being a far more dangerous team than their relatively small league might suggest. Good running power, good skills, not afraid of wet weather. Hard to fault if they bring their A-game.

Players to Watch

Liam O’Connor - a member of the All-Stars team named after the 2002 Cup

Clifford Richardson, Mick Finn - members of the All-Stars team named after the 2005 Cup. Richardson is a strong key position player who can be used in the ruck and a former best and fairest award winner in the SARFL when living in Scotland

Form Guide

Champions in 2002 and for several years undefeated in international competition, the Warriors, affectionately called the Green Machine, suffered their first loss when they went down to the United States by 4 points in round 2 in 2005, followed by losses at the hands of PNG and again the US Revolution in their semi-final. That has been followed by a drubbing by the old enemy, Britain, in 2007 in London, and clearly the aura of invincibility has been well and truly broken. But while that could be seen as a weakness, it may also become a strength if teams underestimate the ability of the men from Eire, especially given it's unlikely they had their best squad on the field in 2007 (something familiar to all footy nations). A better performance was on display later in the year, taking care of Denmark on the road, as well as a win over the Brits the previous year.

Bottom Line

Ireland should be very competitive and a top four finish is again on the cards, despite some recent losses. May be one of the crowd favourites and hopefully their supporters will bring plenty of colour (mostly green) to the tournament.