From Portaloosh to Geelong - the Aussie Rules Grand Final

 

Next Saturday morning at 9.30 a.m. Irish time the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL) will be played in The Gabba, Brisbane. Because of COVID-19, this will be the first Grand Final to be played outside of Melbourne. 

The final sees Richmond Tigers up against Geelong Cats. And let’s hope that the more diminutive sounding felines punch above their weight because there will be two Irishmen lining out for Geelong: Zach Tuohy from Portlaoise and Mark O’Connor from Dingle. Incidentally, thinking again in feline terms, the Geelong Cats beat the Brisbane Lions in the last game so they should have no reason to fear the Tigers.

Portlaoise man Zach Tuohy playing for Geelong Cats

Zach Tuohy put his native town on the world map in a recent interview where he very wittily clarified with his Australian interviewer that Ireland does in fact have internet and that the midland footballing stronghold from which he hails is called Portlaoise and not, as the interviewer had said, 'Portaloosh'. Here is a link to a Leinster Express article containing a video of that interview:

https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/portlaoise-/581979/laois-afl-geelong-star-zach-tuohy-unleashes-some-portaloosh-humour-on-aussie-tv.html 

Tuohy is one of fourteen Irishmen with Gaelic Football backgrounds who are currently plying their trade at the highest level of Australian Rules Football, the Australian Football League (AFL). There are Irish players from all four provinces playing at ten different AFL clubs, with even traditionally hurling counties represented, including Colin O’Riordan of Tipperary playing at Sydney Swans and Darragh Joyce of Kilkenny playing at St. Kilda. There are also at least ten Irish women playing in the women’s game in Australia, with Cora Staunton of Mayo being the leading star.

But Zach Tuohy of ‘Portaloosh’ is Ireland’s leading man in Australia. After the legendary Jim Stynes, he is now only the second Irishman to have played 200 games in the AFL (80 games with Carlton and 120 with his current club). Tuohy has also made his mark in Gaelic Football, winning an All-Ireland minor medal with Laois in 2007 and, in the International Rules game (involving a ‘compromise’ of Aussie and Gaelic rules) he has represented Ireland against Australia on four occasions.

Tadhg Kennelly of Kerry is the only Irishman to have been on the winning team in an AFL Grand Final, when playing for Sydney Swans in 2005. Let’s hope that Tuohy and O’Connor can join him next by claiming their medals on Saturday.  

Aussie Rules and Gaelic Football – a very brief history

The history of Aussie Rules football goes back to at least 1859, when it was first played in Melbourne, and there are strong associations between Aussie Rules and our own Gaelic Football, perhaps even from the very beginning. It is unclear if Gaelic Football was influential in the initial development of the game or if Aussie Rules developed from Rugby Union and Rugby League and just ended up looking very like Gaelic Football. Incidentally, the latter phenomenon (independent evolution leading to similar outcomes) when seen in nature is known as Convergent Evolution.

Whatever the origins and the original Irish input, the kicking, running and fielding in Aussie Rules has remarkable comparisons to Gaelic Football and the games are also now connected by that steady stream of young Irish men and women excelling with Australia’s top clubs.

The strong historic links between Ireland and Australia as nations and in terms of their individual brands of football also led to a series of exhibition games by representative teams from the two countries in the 1960s and a number of more organised ‘International Rules’ series of contests from the 1980s onwards.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2015/1118/743317-gallery-international-rules-down-the-years/

Despite the many similarities between Gaelic Football and Australian Rules, there are a few key differences relating to ovality - of both the football and the playing field

High fielding in Aussie Rules - in an effort to make a 'mark'

High fielding in an International Rules game between Ireland and Australia

Things getting heated between Ireland and Australia in a game from the early days of the International Rules series

Ireland and Australia play each other for the Cormac McAnallen Cup, named in honour of the Tyrone footballer who died suddenly in 2004

But back to next Saturday and that Grand Final, when ‘Portaloosh’ natives will be tuning in from all over the world to urge Zach Tuohy on, along with Dingle folk tuning in to shout for Mark O’Connor.

So come on Portaloosh and come on Geelong!

Thanks this week go to Eddie Mitchell (a previous guest blogger for Sportyman: https://sportyman2020.blogspot.com/2020/05/st-kerrills-festival-bogolympics-and.html) for initially alerting me to Zach Tuohy’s ‘Portaloosh’ interview. 

Thanks also to some of my Portlaoise friends who gave me insights regarding Zach Tuohy, in particular Brian Colgan, Claire Fennell and Noel Bannon, who are friends of Zach and the Tuohy clan.

For the completely uninitiated, here's a nice 5 minute clip explaining all the basics of Aussie Rules football:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMZYZcoAcU0

And finally, in an example of good, grounding, Portlaoise humour, have a look at the link below showing Zach Tuohy’s brother wishing him well for the upcoming Grand Final.

https://www.facebook.com/Geelong.Cats/videos/tuohys-brother-delivers-hilarious-tribute-message/1540635446121967/