FREMANTLE captain Matthew Pavlich and former West Coast All-Australian centre half-back Glen Jakovich have backed the return of International Rules and say players and fans should get behind the series.

Pavlich said representing his country was one of the highlights of his career, one he would be honoured to repeat at Subiaco and the MCG this October, provided his body was willing.

“It's the kind of pride that as an AFL footballer I rarely get to show,” Pavich wrote in his regular column on afl.com.au.

“The opportunity to represent my country in the 2002 and 2003 International Rules series was one of the most privileged, humbling and satisfying experiences I have had in my nine years of football.”

Jakovich, Australia’s goalkeeper in the 2003 series against the Irish, said the experience provided a career highlight before his retirement from competitive sport the following year.

A Western Australian representative at the age of 17, he said the demise of State of Origin football gave him extra incentive to strive for national representation late in his career.

“At the end of the day, I treated it very seriously, extremely seriously [given] that I’m playing for my country. And I’m representing myself and my club in the West Coast Eagles,” Jakovich said.

The speed of the game in front of a packed house at Subiaco added to the adrenalin rush of playing for the green and gold.

“The excitement and the atmosphere at Subiaco – I’ll never forget it,” Jakovich said. “The noise, the roar. And it became nation versus nation, and it’s something I’ve always thrived on, the ‘us versus them’ mentality.”

More than 100,000 people attended the Subiaco and MCG matches in 2003 to witness Australia’s first series win on home soil.

The 41,000-strong crowd at Subiaco saw the unlikely teaming of Fremantle’s Pavlich and Paul Hasleby with West Coast Eagles Jakovich and David Wirrpanda; an experience Pavlich said was unique in bonding fans of both teams.

Jakovich said seeing local talent go head-to-head would again draw fans to Subiaco, but above all, the Australia versus Ireland rivalry would produce a great show.

“It’s a fun night out,” he said. “It’s a great spectacle, you get to see the Irish – how passionate they are. The seriousness of some amateur footballers, which they are, you see them they don’t even flinch to take on boys that are bigger, stronger...”

“I think they set a very good example, their patriotism for their country.”
Ticketing information:

Tickets to the International Rules Series will be on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster at 9am (local time) on Monday 25th August.

For the game at Subiaco Oval, members of the AFL, Fremantle, the West Coast Eagles and other AFL Clubs will have priority access to purchase tickets from 9am (WST) Thursday, August 21 until 5pm Sunday, August 24.