IF the latest installment of the International Rules series has taught the GAA anything it is this -- there's always more to learn.

Critics of the GAA's relationship with Australian Rules (AFL) tend to operate in a one-dimensional analysis of the hybrid game. They see it as a corrupting influence where the main winners are the recruiting agents for AFL clubs, who use the international game as an entry route to tap-up young footballers.

It's a fatuous argument because anybody who believes abandoning the International Rules series would reduce Australian interest in Gaelic footballers is living on a planet where there's still a debate as to whether it's flat or round. Talent spotters for AFL clubs have televisions, so all they need to do is watch GAA games.

They see how skilful Gaelic footballers are, so it's inevitable that will try to recruit what they regard as players who would thrive in Australian Rules. Some Gaelic footballers will make it, while others won't.

That's the way it works, but to pretend that the International Rules game is a case of the GAA's chickens parading themselves in front of the AFL's foxes betrays an insularity that doesn't reflect well on an organisation that has always prided itself on being in touch with the mood of the country.

If the GAA were to break off its relationship with the AFL it wouldn't in any way impact on the number of footballers going to Australia. Those who want to try their talents in Australian Rules will do it anyway, irrespective of whether the International game takes place.

Benefit

So, instead of depicting the international game as a corrosive influence on the GAA, its critics would be better occupied in analysing what Gaelic football can learn from Australian Rules. If that pursuit is taken on with an open mind it can only benefit the GAA.

How so? Gaelic football (and hurling too) suffers from a coaching deficit because it draws from a localised pool. And while Gaelic Games is blessed in having a large number of very innovative people the reality is that the absence of international influence restricts the development of our games.

Even the most cursory reviews of the videos of the games over the last two Fridays would prove that Gaelic football has a lot to learn from Australian Rules, just as AFL players have much to consider after their joust with the Irish.

The difference is that while Australia recognise that fact, there's a tendency in the GAA to dismiss it as propaganda offered by those who back the international game.

So where are the lessons for Gaelic football? The main one centres on the most basic principle of all -- kicking the ball. Isn't it amazing that despite playing with a ball which has a shape alien to what they know, the Australians did so well in the basic task of foot passing over the last two Fridays?

It should be a routine matter of execution for Gaelic footballers to kick the ball to each other, yet the Irish team struggled to get it right. Foot passes were far too often delivered in a slow, ponderous way, enabling the Australians to get in tackles just as Irish players were receiving the ball.

Virus

In contrast, the Australians were much better at off-loading to colleagues and while they were let down by their kicking technique, it was very evident that, with practice, they would become good at delivering the round ball. The lesson for Gaelic football is that it's infected with a handpassing virus which is damaging the kicking game.

That's obvious right down to the drills which are put on display prior to games. It's quite common for teams to ignore shooting practice in favour of hand-passing routines where the ball is transferred no more than three metres. It's laughable to observe squads, complete with bibs to create the impression of an opposition, indulge in idiotic close-up drills while ignoring the basic skills of kicking the ball.

The coaches involved in that modern trend would be better off watching how the Aussies kick the ball to each other.

All that apart, the International Rules game has plenty to offer in its own right. While accepting that, as a hybrid, there will be areas of inefficiency for both codes, it's still a very entertaining game.

The pace and movement of the players are given maximum room for exposure as is the value of clever off-the-ball positioning. There's no doubt that the players involved return to their clubs and counties as more rounded individuals who see football in a different way.

Those who wanted the series scrapped will have been disappointed by the absence of violence in the two tests over the last two Fridays since that was the only logical reason to contemplate scrapping the link-up with Australia. The nature of the two matches proved beyond doubt that the international game has a genuine merit as an individual entity as opposed to a freak show where the contestants bash each other.

The challenge facing the GAA is to sift through the lessons that can be learned from Australian Rules. It's by no means a perfect game but it does encourage skills that are rapidly disappearing from Gaelic football. If the series serves no other purpose than awakening people to that reality, it deserves to be supported.