THE FUTURE of the International Rules Series is dependent on the AFL's best players committing to play for Australia, football operations manager Mark Evans says.
The state of the IRS has been a talking point throughout the Australians' two-week tour of Ireland, with the Gaelic Athletic Association raising concerns about the strength of the Australian teams in the past two series.
An undermanned Australia was beaten 2-0 at home – and by a combined 65 points – in the 2011 series, while this year's all-indigenous team has been weakened by the unavailability of stars such as Adam Goodes, Cyril Rioli, Patrick Ryder, Stephen Hill, Shaun Burgoyne, Michael Johnson and Chad Wingard.
Speaking at Dublin's Croke Park on Friday, Evans said a meeting between the AFL and GAA on Tuesday night had been positive and highly productive, but both sides acknowledged the IRS could be improved.
"We recognised and acknowledged all of the people from the GAA and the AFL that have developed such goodwill into this series, that gives the opportunity for players in our codes to represent their countries," Evans said.
"We discussed a whole range of things about how we could improve the series. We think that the success of the series and the future of the series is dependent on getting the best players to participate from the spectacle point of view, from an interest point of view and for the contest."
Asked what the AFL could do to convince its best players to commit to the IRS, Evans did not think the League would have to dangle money as a carrot.
"It's about the opportunity for the life experiences and the pride of representing your country," he said.
However, Evans acknowledged the AFL and GAA had to consider whether the October timeslot used for recent series was the most attractive one for the players, given it falls in their annual leave period and is one of the busiest times for player weddings.
Evans said Tuesday night's meeting had considered whether the series should be moved to January, February or November.
"We might need to be more prescriptive around saying, 'Here is the timeslot for international rules, here's the schedule for international rules and build that into your plans as well'," Evans said.
Since the IRS's inception in 1984, the Australians have traditionally combated Ireland's mastery of the round ball with superior fitness and strength.
But the amateur Irish players have largely bridged that gap in recent years
Evans said this meant the AFL and GAA would consider whether the IRS's rules needed to be amended to produce a more even contest.
"Some of our very best players aren't overly suited to the hybrid game, so we talked about whether there could be some modifications to the game that might assist that," Evans said.
"(We want to look at) creating that balance between the taller, bigger players having some sort of aerial strength and then the smaller players having the strength once the ball hits the ground."
Evans said the AFL and GAA would also consider recent calls on both sides for the reintroduction of the shepherd, which was banned after the fiery 2006 series.
There is no IRS series scheduled beyond this year's contest, which winds up with the second Test at Croke Park on Saturday night.
Evans said Australia could host a series next year, with both parties discussing possible venues.
The GAA and AFL will now go away and "put their thinking caps on" before re-opening discussions in a couple of months, Evans said.
