SYDNEY'S Irish star Tadhg Kennelly says he is disappointed by plans from a number of county boards in Ireland, including his native Kerry, to oppose the revival of the International Rules series.

The GAA’s controlling body, the Central Council, will meet with all the county boards on March 17, St Patrick’s Day, and one of the main items on the agenda will be whether or not to resume the series which was contested annually between Australia and Ireland until 2006.

Some county boards have expressed concern over the interest of many AFL clubs in young Gaelic Football talent and the increased scouting this has prompted. They believe resuming the series could increase the flow of talent to Australia even further.

But Kennelly came out in support of resuming the Test matches on Tuesday, and said that the issues of scouting and the existence of the series should not be confused.

"Hopefully the county boards will realise that they are two separate issues," Kennelly said.

"As far as I’m concerned county boards are getting mixed up with the recruitment situation and the issue of the series.

"If people really think that scrapping International Rules is somehow going to stop the flow of Irish players to Australia, they’re not living in the real world, because it’s a totally separate issue.

"No player has ever been recruited from a senior International Rules series to play AFL."

A contingent from the GAA, including the association’s president Nicky Brennan, met with an AFL delegation headed by league boss Andrew Demetriou in Dubai in February, where both codes set up a document detailing possible changes to the series rules if the competition is revived.

The proposed amendments include sanctions which would see GAA and AFL players who engaged in violent conduct suspended in their domestic competitions, as well as strict guidelines on the tackle.

Kennelly believes the changes are enough to ensure that the ugly scenes which marred the Tests in 2005 and 2006 will not be repeated.

“As far as the safety of the players goes, there’s no slinging to the ground anymore (in the tackle) so that issue is resolved, and also there’ll be more sanctions, so the game will be cleaned up, so I don’t think it’s an issue.”

In fact, the Sydney premiership player believes county boards opposing the resumption of the series are over emphasising the violence which occurred to push their case.

“I think they (county boards) use it as an excuse more than anything else to say that it’s about the safety of the players. When you ask the players themselves they want to play… we (the players) did [filled out] a survey after the '06 series and 85 per cent of players said they’d like to play again.”

The former Kerry representative believes stopping the series could actually mean an increase in the number of Irish players recruited.

"I think if they scrap the International Rules it’s going to be worse for the GAA because they’re going to lose more and more players because it’s going to be open slather for AFL clubs to just go and do what they want," the 26-year-old said.

"If the GAA has a relationship with the AFL, they’ll be able to control the clubs out here."

As for doubts as to whether the hybrid game is a valid spectacle, Kennelly said the statistics speak for themselves.

“We’ve played 18 games since 1998 and there’s been eight wins for each team and two draws, so as far as a spectacle’s involved, it’s obviously very appealing," he said.

"To have two indigenous sporting sides from opposite sides of the world playing against each other in front of about 85,000 people is highly attractive."