Youthful squad selected

The AFL announced on Wednesday morning that just six members of the 25-man Australian squad that will tackle Ireland in the forthcoming revived International Rules series have had previous experience in the hybrid game.

Hawthorn hard man Campbell Brown, Dockers midfielder Ryan Crowley, North Melbourne superstar Brent Harvey, Eagles on-baller Adam Selwood, Carlton speedster Kade Simpson and Harvey's team-mate Daniel Wells are the only players picked who have played for Australia before.

The selected group now looks set for a race against time to become accustomed to the alternate rules and ball as this year's series kicks off on October 24 at Subiaco. The second and final test takes place a week later at the MCG.

North Melbourne has the most representatives with five Kangaroos - 30-year-old Brent Harvey (the oldest player picked), Drew Petrie, Daniel Wells, Michael Firrito and Matt Campbell - all in line to wear their national colours.

The hybrid game's future had doubt cast over it after the Gaelic Athletic Association decided to abandon the series last year due to what it deemed excessive physicality from Australian players in recent times, most notably from retired Lion Chris Johnson.

With the competition now resuming after a one-year hiatus, Australian coach Mick Malthouse says he and his players are now 'charged with the responsibility' of playing the game within the spirit of the rules.

"The coaches (and) the player group will be very much aware of the fact that (for) this series to continue (it) is (reliant) around the way we conduct ourselves - and also the Irish, let's not forget it takes two to tango," Malthouse said at the Lexus Centre on Wednesday morning.

Although Malthouse conceded the onus is on his players to shy away from an illegal level of physicality, that didn't prevent him from selecting tough players such as Hawthorn pair Brown and Brad Sewell, Crowley and Geelong's Max Rooke.

"We haven't gone out of our way not to pick aggressive players. There are rules in place that state that you can tackle and you can bump when the opportunity arises, that you can still run hard at the football," he said.

"What we don't want to do is get compromised in the mind thinking we've got to tread very lightly when in fact you've still gotta have a massive assault on the ball."

Malthouse described the squad as 'well-balanced' and 'diverse' but he insisted that physicality and pace - an attribute that was first exploited to its maximum by master coach Kevin Sheedy when he was in charge of Australia in 2005 and 2006 - weren't the only qualities that were emphasised when picking players.

"It's been picked on form, players that have had wonderful form this year," said Malthouse.

"We have looked at the way the Irish have played, the way that Australia in the past have had success. We have looked at all those scenarios to collect as many players that will be able to play that type of role that's designed for the game."

Malthouse sees physical aggression as an obvious advantage for the Australians against the Irish.

"It's a natural (instinct for the Aussies). You can't naturally curtail aggression at the ball or your tackling or your bumping when it's required," said the Collingwood coach.

"They've learnt to be able to take a tackle and learnt how to bump and learnt how to go