Aussies Boss Ireland in AFLW’s First-Ever International, No Notes

Okay, I need everyone to sit with this for a second: last night was the first ever women’s Australian rules international, and it legit felt like one of those nights you’ll be telling people about in ten years. Australia ran out 50-point winners over Ireland at a packed North Sydney Oval, and honestly the scoreline barely tells half the story.

A crowd that actually turned up

Full house. Not “full house if you squint” or “full house because they moved the fences in” — an actual sold-out venue for a concept that didn’t even exist as a proper contest a few years ago. That matters more than the margin does, if you ask me. You can win by 50 points in front of three men and a dog and it means nothing for the growth of the game. Win by 50 in front of a heaving North Sydney Oval crowd and suddenly broadcasters, sponsors and the AFL brass are paying attention.

I’ve been banging on for ages about how AFLW deserves to be treated with the same seriousness as the men’s competition, and nights like this are exactly the proof point. People didn’t rock up out of obligation. They rocked up because international footy — real international footy, not just a Melbourne derby with a fancy jumper — is a novelty that Aussie sports fans are absolute suckers for, and fair enough too.

The footy itself

Now let’s talk about the actual contest, because it wasn’t just a glorified exhibition kick-to-kick. Ireland brought genuine physicality and some serious aerial skill, which you’d expect given how many of their squad have Gaelic football pedigree. Credit where it’s due — a few of their high marking efforts had the crowd oohing and aahing like it was a marking contest highlights reel.

But once the Aussies worked out the rhythm of the contest, particularly around stoppages and the flow of general play, the gap opened up quick. Our midfield brigade absolutely dictated terms through the middle two quarters, and you could see the Irish structure start to unravel a bit under that relentless pressure. It’s the classic story of a team that’s grown up with this exact game versus a team still translating skills from a cousin sport, and the translation gap showed most in decision-making under real pressure, not raw athleticism.

Why this matters for growing the game up here

I’m a Queenslander through and through, Lions member, the lot, and I reckon this international window is genuinely massive for growing AFLW beyond the traditional heartland. Kids up here already love the game, but internationals give it a different flavour — it’s not just Brisbane versus Adelaide anymore, it’s literally Australia versus the world. That’s a story a nine-year-old in Cairns can get excited about in a way that a round-eight fixture just doesn’t hit the same.

If the AFL is fair dinkum about growing the women’s game — and to their credit the investment has been real, even if it’s taken longer than a lot of us wanted — this is the kind of product they need to keep building. More internationals, more standalone events, more chances for the code to punch above its weight on the world stage. Ireland won’t be the last opponent knocking on the door either, and honestly I’d love to see what a genuinely competitive rival looks like in a few years once more nations invest in pathways.

The individual performances worth talking about

A few players stood out enough that I reckon we’ll be hearing their names a lot more. The Australian midfield setup looked slick, with clean hands at the coalface and smart use of the corridor once they worked out Ireland’s zone was more suited to defending long kicks than quick handball chains through the guts. Up forward, the finishing was clinical in patches — not perfect, there were some rushed set shots that’ll annoy the coaches on review — but when the Aussies hit the scoreboard they hit it hard, and that’s ultimately what turned a competitive first half into a 50-point rout.

For Ireland’s part, I don’t want to undersell what they brought. Their intercept marking was a genuine weapon early, and a couple of their players showed footy smarts that suggested with more exposure to the Aussie game they could be seriously competitive down the track. This wasn’t a squad that turned up to make up the numbers.

What needs to happen next

Here’s my slightly cheeky take though — a 50-point win is great theatre, but if we want these internationals to stick around as more than a novelty, the AFL needs to actually invest in growing depth overseas, not just parachute in for a one-off spectacle and disapear for another few years. Ireland, and whichever nation is next cab off the rank, need proper coaching exchanges, junior pathways, the whole ecosystem. Otherwise this becomes a nice highlight reel rather than a genuine rivalry.

I’d also love to see a genuine home-and-away structure eventually, even if that’s a few seasons away given logistics and costs. Imagine an actual international series with games in Dublin too — the travelling Irish contingent last night were an absolute credit to their country, singing and carrying on even as the margin blew out, which tells you the appetite is there on their end as well.

The verdict

Look, nobody’s pretending this was a 50-50 arm wrestle. Australia were always going to be favourites given the depth of our talent pool and the fact this is literally our game. But the margin isn’t really the headline here — the headline is that a sold-out crowd turned up to watch women’s Australian football played on the international stage for the first time ever, and the product on display was entertaining enough to justify every ticket sold.

As someone who wants AFLW treated with the same respect, coverage and investment as the men’s competition, last night was a genuinely brilliant step. More of this, please. Let’s build on it instead of treating it as a box ticked.