GAELIC GAMES:AUSTRALIA WILL be bringing their strongest team for many years to Ireland for the upcoming international rules series, with some of the AFL's brightest stars signalling their interest in making the trip.

Geelong midfielder Gary Ablett heads that list and the man considered the AFL’s most valuable commodity is likely to be joined by Cats team-mates Jimmy Bartel, David Wojcinski and Travis Varcoe. Ablett’s manager Liam Pickering – currently in negotiations to see if Ablett remains with Geelong next year or joins the new Gold Coast Suns franchise – confirmed his player’s interest in touring, pending his fitness.

The fact that the Suns are believed to be prepared to pay Ablett in the region of as Aus$1.9 million (€1.4m) a year is an indication of the status of the two-time Brownlow medallist. There is speculation if he joins Gold Coast, his new bosses might not be inclined to let him make his international rules debut to protect their considerable investment.

The AFL has a preliminary list of about 50 players, with the final squad of 23 to be announced on September 30th. The team will leave on October 16th, after two training sessions with the round ball.

Ablett’s interest is a massive boost in Australia to the series, which has been hit by an absence of Aussie Rules’ big names in recent years.