The AFL today announced its 24-man squad for the Foster's Australian International Rules Team for the 2006 series to be played in Ireland.
The squad, to again be coached by Essendon legend Kevin Sheedy, will be defending the Cormac McAnallen Trophy, which was won emphatically 2-0 last year with decisive victories in both Test matches played in Perth and Melbourne.
Sheedy said the squad's make up had been based on last year's successful model with an emphasis on pace and youth, sprinkled with older players who had successfully played the game at international level in earlier years.
The squad will gather next week in Melbourne before departing for Ireland on 21 October and will play a first-ever night Test in Galway on Saturday, 28 October at Pearce Stadium. The second Test will be played at Croke Park in Dublin on Sunday, 5 November.
Sheedy said the Australian selection panel of himself, Danny Frawley, Gerard Healy, Stephen Silvagni, Rod Austin and Jim Stynes had received an outstanding response from the AFL player group and it was vital to tailor a team specifically for the demands of the hybrid game.
'The ball will spend a lot of time on the ground and we showed last year that we can be very successful with a young, fast group, with a real emphasis on their ability to kick the ball and to be able to chase and tackle well,' Sheedy said.
'At least seven or eight of our squad possess absolutely elite-level pace while we also a good group of taller players with very good ability to get around the ground,' he added.
Sheedy said there was also capacity to add one more playing to the tour party, with the selectors to consult with a number of players in the coming days regarding the final position in the squad.
Both Tests are live on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Radio 1.
Australian squad: Chance Bateman (Hawthorn), Campbell Brown (Hawthorn), Ryan Crowley (Fremantle), Aaron Davey (Melbourne), Nick Davis (Sydney), Sam Fisher (St Kilda), Dustin Fletcher (Essendon), Lindsay Gilbee (Western Bulldogs), Brendon Goddard (St Kilda), Barry Hall (Sydney), Graham Johncock (Adelaide), Matthew Lappin (Carlton), James McDonald (Melbourne), David Mundy (Fremantle), Ryan O’Keefe (Sydney), Brett Peake (Fremantle), Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide), Andrew Raines (Richmond), Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda), Adam Schneider (Sydney), Adam Selwood (West Coast), Justin Sherman (Brisbane Lions), Kade Simpson (Carlton), Brent Stanton (Essendon).
