Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

The Aussies are here for International Rules action. Huge crowds, a game we only see every few years, a chance for GAA fans to shout for Ireland. Excited? Emmet Moloney certainly is not...

I don’t get the Aussie experiment. I’m not against change, I’m not against trying something different and I’m not against an international aspect to our games. I’m just against flogging a dead horse and the International Rules series is just that.

I wish it wasn’t so. I’d love if we had international competition based around football and hurling. I’m convinced there is a huge market for our games in foreign fields. Other sports have managed to go from small bases to worldwide audiences and interest. And in hurling we have a field game like no other to promote. It could work. If, of course, we wouldn’t mind losing control of the sport because that’s the price you pay when you look to new pastures. Television gets involved, other cultures get involved and put all that together and you get to the root of most evil: money.

Something like this has happened to this International Rules, yet the GAA has persisted with it. I keep asking myself: what’s in this for us? What is this doing for the GAA? Where’s the upside for Gaelic football – apart from the money?

The pros are obvious. The series generates money for both the GAA and the AFL. That’s important. It wouldn’t be around for long if it didn’t. The players get this unique chance to represent Ireland and the supporters get the opportunity to wave a tricolour in Croke Park. A nice bonus is the selection of a couple of players from the so-called weaker counties who get to experience the big time.

The cup they play for is the Cormac McAnallen trophy and that makes this a little bit more important for Tyrone and Ulster players. No problem with that.

When the show moves to Australia, the pros get a little bit more selective. It’s a nice little trip Down Under for the lucky few in Croke Park, the media, back-up staff and, naturally, the players. (If the series is still alive next year, you can bet your last euro that there’ll be plenty of Kerry fellas busting a gut to get on that trip. Strangely, none of them made the squad for the games in Limerick and Dublin this time around!)

The trip Down Under becomes a nice perk and for the Irish domiciled in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney it’s a chance to get out and be Irish.

None of the above are crimes against the GAA. Players deserve the holiday and officials are entitled too. The media love the international element because the alternative is a county final in the wet and cold of winter.

They all talk it up. Players stress how the green jersey means everything to them, especially playing away from home. The GAA point to crowds and say the word “success” a lot. Media types like it, especially playing away from home where they have a chance to mingle with players. (The media love access – give them that and they’re usually on your side.)
The cons have been obvious since day one. The thuggery. Let’s not beat about the bush, thuggery is the only word for it and almost all of it has come from the Aussie side.
Now, once upon a time (the ’80s) we wouldn’t mind that, but for a few years there the Irish were getting the hell bate out of them. It was far too one-sided and it was dangerous. These were big Australian professional players and, let’s face it, our lads didn’t have the bulk. One year they took it upon themselves to take out Graham Geraghty. He was a very lucky man that day that they only knocked him senseless. It must have been frightening to watch for his family and friends because it was clear they were out to get him and you don’t want these boys coming after you.

Laughably, the series was only suspended and high-level meetings ensued. The Aussies were given a chance to get their house in order and behave. So they now arrive with a squad of angels who won’t engage in any of that carry-on. They are on their last chance.

But that needle, that edge, was the main selling point of the series. Once upon a time I sat in Croke Park at an All-Ireland football final and watched Coca Cola run ads on the big screen for the up-coming Rules series. The ads featured footage of Jack O’Shea and Bomber Liston getting clattered by Aussies and the two boys giving it back to them.

It was from the early ’80s when the physical difference between the two sets of players wasn’t that noticeable. It is now. At the same All-Ireland final, the big screen went blank if any skirmish developed. Yet it was fine at half-time to show the fighting between the Aussies and the Irish!

We must be honest. That’s why we watched the thing, in the hope we’d win the fight and the match as well. It was national pride. If one of them hit one of ours, the next thing we wanted to see was one of our lads in there hitting them back. Indiscipline was fairly rife in both camps back then.

But that was almost harmless compared to what developed in recent years. Thanks to serious advances in sports preparations and sciences, bigger and stronger Australians were taking out Irish players and then went hunting for their friends. In packs. We couldn’t compete because, deep down, we’re footballers, not aggressive, ultimate-fighter types. It was embarrassing and deeply unsatisfying. As a spectacle, it was a shambles. On the field, it was scary. Most of the blame was directed Down Under. And rightly so.

As cons go, that’s a big one. The other con is the actual game itself. It doesn’t really work. Played according to the rules, it doesn’t inspire. The tackle, the mark, the scoring system. A wide gets you a point for God’s sake!

Although the game is almost 30 years old, the rules are unclear to even the players and referees. The Aussies don’t take it seriously that often and we have far too many advantages. When the Aussies play cleanly, they are usually well beaten. And if the game isn’t close, there is little to recommend it.

The pros and cons will be debated again after this year’s series. The GAA is hoping for full houses, big TV viewing figures, last-minute wins for Ireland and no-one hospitalised. If that happens, we’ll hear the game has a future again. Micko might even get the job next time.

Ultimately, money will call the shots – as it always does – and this manufactured hybrid game will stutter on until the inevitable lack of financial support. I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

The International Rules was a noble idea but its time has passed.

To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...