Football vs. Thugery

Steve_o

Seems to me that the international rules series has become a clash between football and thugery....From what i could judge from the game on Sunday, a few of the Australians seem more interested in violence rather than football....now dont get me wrong, the irish started a few of the clashes but it was the aussies for the most part, if there is to be a future in this sport should Ireland sacrifice the deserving footballers for the "hatchet" men of the game to try and match the aussies aggression and physical strength?? Also, is it going to reach a point where the players will refuse to play? The aussies are professional footballers but the Irish players have jobs after the matches! I doubt they like going to work on a monday after being hammered for 70minutes the day before? The Captain Kieran McGeeney seemed very unhappy with what happened in the post-match interview? Personally i cant see him wanting to play again....

Please comment.

MrJoeSoap

I didn't see the game, but saw a good bit of the highlights and can't see the appeal of this "sport" whatsoever anymore. A bit of properly channeled physicality in sport can be as good as skill at times, but this rivalry has descended into farce, with assaults being mistaken for "tackles" and the sporting spectacle being secondary to the violence on the field.

Of course the Austalians have come out and called the Irish every name under the sun after this one, pansy etc..., but it doesn't even come down to that. I'm possibly one of the least patriotic people going, and I'd prefer to see a good team win a game than "my" country, but I can't accept either an Australian or an Irish win under the current circumstances.

I've never seen Sean Boylan so angry in my life.

kevmy

Theres another thread lads with the same topic

Peterdmc

in my opinion if the rules are to continue ireland need to put out some "hatchett" men to match their thugs. otherwise there is no point, they'll always win

jules101

first of all there is another thread on this, second of all did you think maybe just maybe that the aussies were the better side on the day?

MrJoeSoap

jules101 wrote:

first of all there is another thread on this, second of all did you think maybe just maybe that the aussies were the better side on the day?

Yes, obviously they were. Doesn't change my point at all though.

jules101

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Yes, obviously they were. Doesn't change my point at all though.

Pearce's tackle in Aussie rules would have been a free kick to Pearce. The kick on Brown on the other hand...

MrJoeSoap

jules101 wrote:

Pearce's tackle in Aussie rules would have been a free kick to Pearce. The kick on Brown on the other hand...

What point are you trying to make so?

nacho libre

A bit rich of Boylan to complain about the Australian tactics. I notice he wasn't too quick to condemn what happened against Mayo in 1997. I don't ever recall him admonishing Mick Lyons for his "thuggery" on the field
Any team he put out he encouraged them to be dirty and rough up the opposition. Anyway, it seems McGeeney was the only Irish player strong enough to handle the Australians.

jules101

MrJoeSoap wrote:

What point are you trying to make so?

if ireland had won we wouldnt be having this discussion is my point. The irish coach is covering up his inability to pick or coach a side to win against australia. The media jumps on the bandwagon with the story. I have read some articles however which agree with my view however.

nacho libre

jules101 wrote:

if ireland had won we wouldnt be having this discussion is my point. The irish coach is covering up his inability to pick or coach a side to win against australia. The media jumps on the bandwagon with the story. I have read some articles however which agree with my view however.

I agree with your view 100 per cent. No one has pointed out the irish player's headbutt to an australian and a knee into the face by another.

Car Mad

nacho libre wrote:

A bit rich of Boylan to complain about the Australian tactics. I notice he wasn't too quick to condemn what happened against Mayo in 1997. I don't ever recall him admonishing Mick Lyons for his "thuggery" on the field
Any team he put out he encouraged them to be dirty and rough up the opposition. Anyway, it seems McGeeney was the only Irish player strong enough to handle the Australians.

i totaly agree he was in charge of meath in the 90's and they had more thugs than in mount joy.and Mr Graham Geraghty was one of his leading thugs:mad: and it is widely known that he took out one of the Aussies in the first game.the gaa has wide spread thuggery like this in most places (eg canning incident)its just not seen and the gaa will do flup all about it becoz there making too much money.People have to face the fact that the Aussies did play the best football also.Saying that there was some disgraceful acts in the game and they really need to stamp this out.

Xvim

Campbell Brown who was kicked by an Irish player has resulted in a fractured hip which will see him missing pre-season training until after Christmas. That will hurt him next year with a much shorter pre-season. What did he do to deserve getting kicked?

Headbutting, dropping the knees into a prone player, kicking? It is a bit rich to claim the high moral ground dont you think?

cournioni

jules101 wrote:

Pearce's tackle in Aussie rules would have been a free kick to Pearce. The kick on Brown on the other hand...

Don't talk crap! It would not have been a free kick to Pearce in AFL, the ball was out of Geraghty's hands so it would not have been a free kick. And the fact that he threw Geraghty into the ground head first without the ball has to be the epitome of thuggery and far worse than anything any Irish player had done during the series.

He could have easily broken Geraghty's neck with that act of thuggery, and it was premeditated. The Aussies were out to get him before the whistle had even blown. How many years would you get for that out on the street? Premeditated assault that could have even resulted in his death if he had his neck broken.

I am a Cavan man, and I don't like Geraghty nor Boylan in the slightest. But even I can see that what was done to him was the work of absolute scum.

padi89

PORNAPSTER wrote:

the fact that he threw Geraghty into the ground head first

Ah now come on, thats going way over the top:rolleyes:

Waylander

PORNAPSTER wrote:

Don't talk crap! It would not have been a free kick to Pearce in AFL, the ball was out of Geraghty's hands so it would not have been a free kick. And the fact that he threw Geraghty into the ground head first without the ball has to be the epitome of thuggery and far worse than anything any Irish player had done during the series.

He could have easily broken Geraghty's neck with that act of thuggery, and it was premeditated. The Aussies were out to get him before the whistle had even blown. How many years would you get for that out on the street? Premeditated assault that could have even resulted in his death if he had his neck broken.

I am a Cavan man, and I don't like Geraghty nor Boylan in the slightest. But even I can see that what was done to him was the work of absolute scum.

Porn the tackle on Geraghty was fine, within the rules of the game as far as I am concerned.

cournioni

Waylander wrote:

Porn the tackle on Geraghty was fine, within the rules of the game as far as I am concerned.

The initial tackle was fine, when Geraghty had the ball in his hands. However the follow through, when the ball was out of Geraghty's hands was absolutely not within the rules. The ball was long gone when Pearce planted Geraghty's head into the ground.

padi89 wrote:

Ah now come on, thats going way over the top :rolleyes:

How is it going way over the top? He landed face first into the ground didn't he?

MrJoeSoap

Xvim wrote:

Headbutting, dropping the knees into a prone player, kicking? It is a bit rich to claim the high moral ground dont you think?

Yet another reason why the whole series is a joke and should be put to bed.

Xvim

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Yet another reason why the whole series is a joke and should be put to bed.

I agree, but it has to end with the understanding that there were no innocent victims out there, calling Australians thugs is hypocritcal given how the Irish players conducted themselves.

I am against any violence in an international friendly contest yet nothing I have read has shown any kind of outcries or outrage over the Irish players for their unacceptable conduct during the last game. I find the lack of consistancy to be very hypocritical.

I do not think the series has a future, unfortunately, I believe the series is doomed because the Irish are losing moreso than because of the violence and I think that is the wrong reason to quit.

If the GAA are not interested in playing anymore then that is fine, they should just say it is not in the best interest of their game to continue the series but they need to stop pushing the line that the Australians are too violent and that the Irish are innocent victims, as the team captain and coach have mentioned. It is just poor sportsmanship to make excuses or blame the opposition for losing.

But, you need two to tango, the series wont survive with only one party interested in developing it.

MrJoeSoap

The Series is doomed because it is no longer a "sport". Players from both sides enter the games with agenda's other than playing the game and winning. Once this happens regularly the spectacle is ruined and people start getting annoyed and apathetic.

Steve_o

Agreed, it is true to say that a good few spectators enjoy watching the rough stuff but i think its a waste of time, the whole series is a joke and will continue to be a joke until the players realise that thugery has no place in sport.