GAA President Liam O’Neill has accepted that the gap year introduced to the international rules series in 2008 has not worked. He also said that there was a possibility that next year’s contest might again be played on a one-match basis.

Speaking to media in the Ireland team hotel in Perth, O'Neill said that he was in favour of the series continuing but said that the GAA would not be meeting their AFL counterparts about the future of the internationals until after Saturday's Test.

His comments on the gap year came as the president defended the GAA’s choice of broadcast partner for the series after a question querying TG4’s role given the language barrier for many.

"TG4 do a fantastic job for us. They never let us down. It's in the media rights deal they have with us. Whoever broadcasts the game has nothing to do with the size of the crowd. It's the work done beforehand that matters there.

Doesn’t really work

“We need more certainly. That would be playing every year. Taking a gap year is a bit like breaking off an engagement and going back again – it doesn’t really work. You could get a lot more momentum into it if it was played every year.”

He also delivered a broad statement of support for the internationals.

“We’re here to play. This game has been arranged for three years. I see this as just one more game in the series. It’s a chance for our players to play internationally. We fully support the concept. My personal view is that I hope it will continue.”

Asked whether he would agree to another one-test series in Ireland next year, he replied: “I’m sure we would. That decision might not be made before the 28th February. I’d be prepared to make it now but Aogán [Ó Fearghail, president-elect] is president from then, so whatever happens after that will be decided by him and the new Coiste Bainistí and Páraic [Duffy, GAA Director General].

“The players are very happy to get the chance to play one Test this year; they’re really up for it. They’re for it and I would hate to see it thrown away simply because of a dislike for one Test instead of two.”

Asked whether the GAA would be able to fund the series from the gate receipts of one Test, O’Neill said he thought it would be possible.

He reiterated that the central consideration in the series was the relationship between the two sports organisations but remarked that the Australians didn’t appear as autonomous as the GAA.

“As I said the other day at a function in Melbourne, if the series is going to survive it’s going to survive because of good relations between the AFL and the GAA.

“They don’t seem to have the same grip on decision making that we have centrally. They’re saying they haven’t and they have to consult the players and have to consult the clubs. We’re meeting them on Sunday for a post-match review. It wouldn’t make any sense to do it any sooner. If there’s a lack of a decision, it’ll be on their side and not ours.”

During the week the AFL have flown a kite about a potential Test in the US, which was suggested as a possible stop-off points for the Australia team on their way to Ireland.

Emphasising that any such match couldn’t come out of Ireland’s schedule of home matches, O’Neill also maintained that the GAA would prefer to promote its own games in America.

“That’s their agenda, not ours. If we were going to America, I’d like to see us playing Gaelic football. That would be the number one choice for us.

“That [a stopover match] might be possible but we can’t just commit to those sorts of things. We’re already discussing changes for that time of the year, so we’d have to consider how that would impact.

“It’s interesting though that the shinty – the Camanachd Association – were looking at a game in New York against our shinty [international rules] team. It’s interesting that both of our partners are looking at New York as a possible place to play games.”

Increased space

Addressing domestic issues, the president talked about the proposed tightening of the inter-county season and the bringing forward of All-Ireland finals in order to make increased space available for club fixtures.

The sub-committee appointed to review this matter deferred launching its report until January’s Central Council meeting.

“When you move your fixtures back you know when you have to start and, if we get permission to move the All-Irelands forward, that will create windows. We can do other creative things with the staging of All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals.

“You could gain another week; you could gain another couple of weeks once you move away from the fundamental thing that the All-Ireland finals have to be the first and third Sundays of September. Our preference all along up to this point was that September was ours and we always resisted moving from that.

“But Páraic and I have come to the conclusion now that if we don’t give centrally, we can’t expect counties and clubs to give. But if we do give centrally, not only are we showing goodwill, we’re actually creating the space in which all the other games can take place.”