THE AFL and the GAA have confirmed that there will be a two-game International Rules Series between the countries in October this year.

The games will take place on October 24th in Perth and October 31st in Melbourne. Details of the stadiums to be used and other arrangements will be revealed later.

The announcement of the dates for the resumption of the series follows months of talks between the two organisations which first began when an AFL party headed by Andrew Demetriou met with a GAA president Nicky Brennan and his colleagues in Paris at the Rugby World Cup in October last year.

The Irish pulled the plug on the series after violent scenes marred the 2006 tests in Ireland but it appears that negotiations regarding the hybrid series rules have resulted in a satisfactory compromise for both codes.

The two organisations discussed many possible amendments to the rules, including restrictions on the full bodied tackle and possibly the introduction of a neutral referee to take charge of the tests.

It is possible that rugby league officials could be involved in the 2008 series.