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So, what we understand from the last week...
Mid-2005: The AFL, desperate to appear important on the world stage with The Socceroos bound for Germany, appoint the AFLs biggest cheerleader Kevin Sheedy to the position of International Rules coach. In skipping untired media-friendly coaches of the past (Brereton, Lyon), they signal their intention to take the Int. rules 'seriously'.
Late 2005: Chris Johnson whacks an Irishman at Telstra Dome. This spoils the party for the AFL who were enjoying the success of the series.
Late 2006: The AFL Int. Rules Squad are sent to Ireland with clamouring disclaimers that the trip is not a junket. That they are here to be taken seriously and play the sport. Demetriou, desperately wanting his legacy to be the expansion of the AFL concept OS (as Oakley's was across Australia - the AFL) is most fervent.
The squad and it's managers are surprised to find how much of an impact last years Sheedy-sanctioned 'physicality' has had. They are not welcomed with open arms, and adjust their style of play. They are beaten by Ireland in the first test. Demetrious is happy the way the series is going.
The Squad go to the races. Despite it not being a junket, they are let out with no curfew or supervision. There is an incident. Fevola gets into a scuffle with a barman.
Demetriou is furious and throws the book at Fev. He then spends a week vilifying one of his players, desperately trying to appease the Irish.
The AFL decide to send Fev home, but, without any specific guidance from club or AFL, he decides to go hide-out with his friend and fellow AFL player Fraser Gherig who is in Europe. Channel 9 - one of his employers - asks for an exclusive interview. Fev does the interview, putting forward the view that it was only a scuffle - he didn't hit the bloke - and that it was something of a reaction to the hostile reception they'd recieved in Ireland. He uses an incident of mild racism to illustrate his point, no doubt because he ends up looking good if he's defending his team-mates.
Demetriou vehemently denies this. His only job this week is to be the jolly, professional face of the sport as he tries to tie down the series with Ireland as a highlight of the AFL calendar. He claims that none of the Aboriginal players have been racially vilified. He calls Fev a liar.
All the while, another problem is brewing. Kevin Sheedy is competitive. He knows his team were beaten because they were too soft. This is a coach who kept Dean Wallis on his list for ten years because he could hurt a bloke. He doesn't want to lose the second test, and, subsequently, the series. He decides on a more physical approach to the second Test.
Ther second test begins. Traditional AFL niggle is seen as an incitement and the Irish lash out. After a week of talking up the series in physical terms, the game is a powder keg. The game descends into a farce as the Irish panic and fight. It is nearly abandoned.
The Australians win by a record margin in an ugly match. The GAA public doubt the future of the series, and the Irish coach fuels the fire. Sheedy is unrepentant.
Demetriou spends the day looking folorn and trying to sure up the series by suggesting they should discuss its future at a later date. He has spent the entire week trying to make one AFL player a villain only for his precious series to end in a farce.
Meanwhile, Fevola, with no evidence at this point that either the AFL, Carlton Football Club or his manager have advised him, decides to return to Ireland to finish up the police business there. He is told off for being silly, and sets off home.
As the Int. Rules Squad return it emerges that the Aboriginal players in the squad were not directly abused. That the questionalble comments directed to Fevola were a result of the general hostility the entire squad came up against. That Fev chose those comments, probably unwisely, to illustrate the tension that was around the team.
Demetriou is left looking to be incompetent - or a liar. Or both. He will never acknowledge this. There is still no explaination how a trip that is not a junket can include an all-day trip to the races with no curfew.
The future of the Int. Rules series is still up in the air. Fevola's decision to remain in Europe is justified with his return to Ireland to conclude matters. His actions are not justified, but he is proven to be truthful in his comments about 'villification'.
The media move on to the Melbourne Cup, having lambasted Fevola and harrassed his wife for a week with impunity because the AFL Boss made him the figurehead for 'the bad Aussie'.
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