An uphill task.
It’s always difficult to go to Australia and win in the International Rules series.
You need to remember that the lads playing for Ireland all have full-time jobs, they’re all amateurs and have their working commitments.
Then there are families etc. on top of that.
That can be one of the reasons that we won’t see a number of players as their manager Joe Kernan admitted but there are also the injuries.
It has been a long and gruelling season for some counties, none more so than Dublin and Mayo, especially Mayo.
Stephen Rochford’s side played 10 championship games in the summer and one it has taken its toll on Lee Keegan, the Westport man missed the replay against Roscommon through injury and you get the sense this season took its toll on him.
The International Rules manager Joe Kernan was speaking at the launch of the games today in the Australian Embassy in Dublin and spoke about Keegan’s exclusion from the squad but also revealed both Dublin and Mayo should be well represented:
“Unfortunately, he has been carrying a wee bit of an injury over from the All-Ireland and he won’t be able to make it so it’s disappointing,” Kernan said
“I’m sad for him and I’m sad for us that he can’t make it.
“In fairness to Mayo and Dublin players, I never phoned one of them until last weekend out of courtesy to their management and to the rest of their team not to be talking about something that didn’t affect them until they finished the job they were doing.
“There’s a couple of boys that can’t do it because of work.
“There are 18 players that I asked from (Dublin and Mayo) there’s some of them waiting to come back with work commitments, there’s three or four with injury problems and there is one or two that can’t commit because of work.
“I’d be hoping at least four from each,” Kernan concluded.
The International Rules games will take place in Adelaide and Perth on the 12 and 18 November.
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