Eade clarifies comments over tactics

INTERNATIONAL RULES:The Australia coach was at pains to clear up his comments over the lak of evolution in Gaelic football in 100 years, writes SÉAN MORAN

IN A training match at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne yesterday evening, Australia had a comfortable win over a Victoria GAA selection.

Whereas the opposition flagged in the second half, the AFL side showed aptitude with the round ball and coach Rodney Eade was happy afterwards when talking to the media.

He also took the opportunity to clarify his statement of last week when he said that football hadn’t refined its tactics in 100 years.

“That was a very generic statement. What I thought was with our game we’ve had a lot of rule changes and a lot of Northern Hemisphere games like rugby don’t change things a lot.

“While the hybrid game has been modified, the number of hand-balls and inter-changes we have as a sport look to gain an edge or push the envelope, if that’s the right phrase.

“We’ve been able to do that and that’s all I said. It certainly wasn’t a criticism. Sometimes you push the envelope and it’s a negative.

I suppose you won’t die wondering!”

Asked about the inevitable concern surrounding the ability of players to maintain composure and focus on the challenge in hand, Eade spelled out that he would have few worries about any breakdown of that nature.

“Not from our point of view, no. We’ve spoken about playing in the spirit of the game, we’d like to play aggressively and be competitive, which the Irish too are very passionate about the game.

“Obviously, both teams will play to win, but we need to play within the spirit of the rules and we’d like the relations to be strong between the two countries and we want the series to continue. We don’t want to endanger that at all.”

One of Eade’s most pressing concerns is the selection of a goalkeeper.

Long-serving Dustin Fletcher is injured for the series and the AFL will have to look to a new cap – and hope for the best with Zac Smith and Mark Nicoski in contention.

“Yeah, we had the Melbourne Victory goalie coach Steve Mautoni before the game and did some training with him and Mark (Nicoski) was quite impressive and the fact he’s a good kick. Zac is 6ft 8in, but he’s very agile too, it creates a nice dilemma for us where to use him.

“It is certainly a plus for us. I think we need Mark in goal because he played soccer. Not that he was ever a goalie, but we don’t have one.

“With his height and what Dustin Fletcher was able to do before, he (Zac) adds a dimension as a forward so he gives us that thought process.”