If whatever crafty gene drives the International Rules series could be isolated, it would make a fortune for the biomedical industry. Two years ago the whole concept looked to be on its death bed. The poorest attendance ever to have watched the series in Ireland had been treated to the spectacle of a very good home team running riot against a side made up exclusively of indigenous Australian players – an idea seemingly plucked off the top of the AFL’s then CEO Andrew Demetriou’s head when he was giving a television interview. Viewed in some quarters as an impulsive, political gesture to indigenous players who were becoming increasingly militant about levels of racism in Australian Rules, the...
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