The 20-year-old is representing his country for the first time after only making his inter-county debut this year, but says he – as well as his teammates – are as prepared as possible for the challenges of the hybrid game.
"It's going to be a different type of series this time around as they have tightened up on the regulations and rules," he said.
"We are expecting a free-flowing game with some physicality, but I expect it to be a quick and fast game with both teams moving the ball quickly. Hopefully all the bad elements will be eliminated that were in the last series and I'm looking forward to it."
Being able to stop after taking a mark and dealing with being tackled are the hardest things for the Irish to get used to, but Parsons is confident that, come Friday night, his team will be fully ready for the contest.
"Our tackling won't be near as physical as the Australians, but we've done a lot of work with rugby coaches. Some of us find it hard to get our heads around it and feel we deserve a free when tackled when we don’t, and we just have to get up and get on with it," he said.
"I played Gaelic Football on Sunday evening and went up to catch the ball and thought about the mark I will be paid now in this game, so that will take some adjusting to. We have been playing this at trials and training for the last six or seven weeks, though, so we all have the mentality right around the game."
Parsons is one of six Irish players who represented their clubs in matches in Ireland last weekend. But he is enthused about the upcoming challenge despite running out on to the training track only hours after arriving in the country on Tuesday.
"It has been a brilliant experience so far. The pitch is brilliant, the lighting is fantastic and we would not have as good lighting in a lot of our Irish stadiums. I'm also surprised at how big the oval pitch is compared to our field back home", Parsons said.
"With the time difference and all that it was a 35-hour trip. You watch a few movies, have a wee sleep and then you arrive in no time. It was a long journey but the buzz about what we were coming for helped get us through it. Now that we are here it's worth the while."
Parsons is still in college back home in Ireland and while the Gaelic game isn’t professional, the time required for training, playing and working out makes it almost seem like it is.
"I'm 20 and I'm in college studying civil engineering back home. I'm midway through that having done two years and I have two years to go, and we have college football as well," he said.
"We might not be professionals, but football takes up a lot of our time with training and gym commitments and most days of the week we do something."
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The 2008 Toyota International Rules Series: Australia v Ireland
First Test – Subiaco, Perth, Friday 24 October
Second Test – MCG, Melbourne, Friday 31 October
Tickets on sale now at ticketmaster.com.au, by calling 1300 136 122 or at a Ticketmaster outlet.
For full coverage of the 2008 series, click here.
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