AFL flags international tri-series

The AFL has flagged the possibility of a tri-series format where there's an Australian contest preceding the international fixtures.

In future years, a mixed AFL team and an Indigenous All Stars squad could do battle at home to determine who represents Australia against Ireland in international rules Tests.





League diversity officer Jason Mifsud is confident the current series - with Australia fielding an all-indigenous team - will generate momentum to get the series "back to a level we're all hoping it should be at".

"It could end up becoming a tri-series of some description where you have an AFL All Stars versus an Indigenous All Stars game back at home to pick the team to come to Ireland or when Ireland comes to Australia," Mifsud told AAP ahead of the first Test at Cavan on Saturday night (Sunday morning AEDT).

"Who knows what the possibilities might be.

"It (the current series) could end up being the catalyst to create the greatest generation of international rules games between the two countries."

Mifsud said the indigenous players presently in Ireland "wouldn't necessarily advocate for indigenous-only teams to continually play" but he argued a tri-series could be a winner.

AFL superstar Lance Franklin says the future format really depends on what the AFL wants to do with the competition.

"If they want an all-indigenous team or an Australian mixed team who knows," the Hawk-turned-Swan forward told AAP in Cavan.

"We're just happy with what it is at the moment and then it might change back.

"In this case, it's an all-indigenous team and we want to do Australia proud and our people proud."

Mifsud says sending the Indigenous All Stars to Ireland this year helped celebrate the growth and contribution of Aboriginal players in the AFL.

Twenty years ago there were 30 Aboriginal footballers in the competition and now there are 80.

"If nothing else just by the AFL sending an all-indigenous team it's created quite a bit of debate already," Mifsud said.

"One of the under-pinning reasons to have this side come over here is to try and reinvigorate the interest in the series both locally and back in Australia."

The All Stars are the first all-indigenous team to represent an Australian sporting code at senior level overseas since the first cricket team toured England more than 150 years ago.

"That's a really significant moment in our country's sporting history of any code - that shouldn't be lost," Mifsud said.


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Source: AAP


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