Collingwood’s new Football and Coaching Strategist Rodney Eade has more head coaching duties to complete before officially taking up his role at the Westpac Centre.
Eade will lead the Australian International Rules team into battle against Ireland in upcoming the two-Test series on home soil.
While no Collingwood players will take part in this year’s IR series, the club’s sports science director David Buttifant is part of Eade’s off-field team.
The first Test will be played at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on Friday 28 October, with the second clash at Gold Coast’s Metricon Stadium on Friday 4 November.
Eade, a four-time Hawthorn premiership player, has an impressive coaching resume comprising 314 games with Sydney (1996-2002) and the Bulldogs (2005-11).
He was named to the new role at Collingwood shortly after the club’s Grand Final loss to Geelong earlier this month, and will support new senior coach Nathan Buckley as the club strives for its 16th premiership in 2012.
Former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse led the Australian team to IR series success in Ireland last year, with Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan winning the Jim Stynes Medal as his country’s best player.
Eade said the 2011 Australian party is suited to the demands of the hybrid game, with an emphasis around players with particularly strong kicking skills, pace and the ability to move the ball quickly, as well as being able to defend against the well-skilled Irish side.
“To be successful against Irish sides who have an emphasis on a fast-moving forward line and great ball skills, we need to select players who are both quick across the ground and have good foot skills that can adapt to the round ball very quickly,” Eade said.
“We have selected well-performed players in the youth bracket of 20-24 year olds around the competition to provide spark and enthusiasm, combined with a proven track record in AFL footy of their running power.
“We will need to use our pace in attack and then have the ability to use our repeat speed and defend just as hard when Ireland has the ball and is attacking our goals,” he said.
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THE TEAM
Richard Douglas (Adelaide Crows), 95 games, 0 Tests
James Frawley (Melbourne), 82 games, Two Tests 2010
Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide), 68 games, 0 Tests
Brad Green (Melbourne), 241 games, Four Tests 2004/2010
Shaun Grigg (Richmond), 64 games, 0 Tests
James Kelly (Geelong Cats), 194 games, 0 Tests
Jake King (Richmond), 75 games, 0 Tests
Ben McGlynn (Sydney Swans), 82 games, 0 Tests
Trent McKenzie (Gold Coast Suns), 21 games, 0 Tests
Stephen Milne (St Kilda), 236 games, Two Tests 2002
Angus Monfries (Essendon), 132 games, 0 Tests
Robin Nahas (Richmond), 55 games, 0 Tests
Mark Nicoski (West Coast), 112 games, 0 Tests
Mitch Robinson (Carlton), 49 games, 0 Tests
Liam Shiels (Hawthorn), 42 games, 0 Tests
Zac Smith (Gold Coast Suns), 20 games, 0 Tests
Matthew Suckling (Hawthorn), 29 games, 0 Tests
Andrew Swallow (North Melbourne), 106 games, 0 Tests
Colin Sylvia (Melbourne), 121 games, 0 Tests
Jack Trengove (Melbourne), 37 games, 0 Tests
Bernie Vince (Adelaide Crows), 88 games, 0 Tests
Callan Ward (GWS Giants), 60 games, 0 Tests
David Wojcinski (Geelong Cats), 199 games, One Test
Easton Wood (Western Bulldogs), 28 games, 0 Tests.
