A general view of North Sydney Oval. Picture: AFL Photos

NORTH Sydney Oval looms as the likely home for this year's first ever AFLW Origin clash between Australia and Ireland.

A number of potential locations in multiple states have been scouted for the blockbuster one-off fixture to be played later this year, with the 16,000-capacity North Sydney Oval now understood to be firming as the most likely location.

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Historic first as AFLW gears up for inaugural International Rules game

As revealed by AFL.com.au last month, an agreement for Australia and Ireland to play in a first-ever Australian Football women's fixture is edging closer with the clash now set to be held in July or August.

There has been an expectation in AFLW circles that North Melbourne's dual premiership winner Darren Crocker and Sydney's Colin O'Riordan, the first ever Irish AFL/AFLW senior coach, will be sounded out as potential coaches for the two sides.

The Swans have played one-off games at North Sydney Oval across recent AFLW seasons and last year held their round one clash against Richmond at the venue.

Given the July-August timeline for the AFLW Origin fixture, the game is tipped to make up part of the new-look pre-season schedule for sides ahead of the 2026 campaign officially starting the week of Monday, August 10.

Erika O’Shea, Vikki Wall, Amy Gavin Mangan and Blaithin Bogue pose for a photo after North Melbourne's 2025 Grand Final win over Brisbane at Ikon Park. Picture: AFL Photos

As revealed last month, the match is set to be played as an Australian Football match with a classic Sherrin footy, rather than with a round ball under Gaelic rules like previous iterations of Australia-Ireland men's clashes.

There are more than 40 Irish players now competing in the AFLW competition, with five – Brisbane's Jennifer Dunne, Carlton's Dayna Finn, Hawthorn's Aine McDonagh, North Melbourne's Blaithin Bogue and Gold Coast's Niamh McLaughlin – making last year's All-Australian side.

Aine McDonagh poses with an Irish flag after the round four AFLW match between Hawthorn and St Kilda at RSEA Park, on September 21, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Three Irish players – Carlton's Finn, Hawthorn's McDonagh and Fremantle's Aisling McCarthy – won club best and fairest awards at the end of the 2025 season, marking the first time in AFLW history that Irish players had claimed such honours.

North Melbourne's 2025 premiership team featured three Irish players in Bogue, Erika O'Shea and Vikki Wall, while a fourth in Amy Gavin Mangan was named as an emergency.

Australia and Ireland last played a two-match men's International Rules series in Adelaide and Perth back in 2017, with Australia claiming a 2-0 series win.