{"id":829248,"date":"2026-07-28T14:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/829248\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:45:13","slug":"aflw-news-2026-australia-v-ireland-north-sydney-oval-venue-controversy-chloe-molloy-comments-hopes-for-representative-football-paris-mccarthy-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/829248\/","title":{"rendered":"AFLW news 2026 Australia v Ireland | North Sydney Oval venue controversy, Chloe Molloy comments, hopes for representative football, Paris McCarthy comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chloe Molloy believes the right steps are being taken to keep representative football in the women\u2019s game<\/a>, even if it means playing at a suburban venue. <\/p>\n

The AFL<\/a> has received heavy criticism over the past month after it refused to move the historic international clash between Ireland and Australia to a larger venue<\/a>, with North Sydney Oval set to host a sold-out crowd of 9,000 fans on Saturday. <\/p>\n

\"Molloy<\/p>\n

Molloy and McCarthy will go from friends to enemies when they take to the field on Saturday.\u00a0via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Those who missed out on tickets will have to watch along from home or at a local pub to witness all the action, despite pleas to get the game moved to the Sydney Cricket Ground<\/a>. <\/p>\n

While the idea of playing in front of a larger crowd at the SCG is appealing, Molloy made clear that the women\u2019s game must acknowledge how exciting it is to even have the opportunity to play a representative game. <\/p>\n

And if that means a smaller venue is the first step, the Sydney Swans<\/a> forward is content.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur preference would be a big stadium that is sold out, but … we\u2019ve played Swans games at North Sydney Oval and seen the atmosphere that it brings, it\u2019s incredible,\u201d Molloy, who will don the green and gold guernsey, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took so much work to get this representative game up and running with the PA (players association), the AFL and the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that we maybe get caught up in doing is thinking about what\u2019s next. Obviously, we need to predict the future a little bit, and I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t say I want rep footy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all want the AFLW to grow. (Australia v Ireland) is not at the SCG this year, that\u2019s a shame. I\u2019m excited nonetheless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to pull on the jersey in whatever stadium. No one could be (in the stands) and I\u2019d still be just as proud to represent the green and gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes time for the game to expand into larger venues, Molloy\u2019s Swans teammate and looming opponent Paris McCarthy would be open to the international match being played on Irish soil.<\/p>\n

She noted you only have to look at the crowd when Mayo broke a 75-year curse to win the Gaelic\u00a0football title on Monday (AEST) to see how big the game could be. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be scary for the Australians,\u201d she said of a possible game in Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the future, that would be absolutely amazing. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the men\u2019s international rules game back in Ireland and that was a huge thing. Now with the women, I know a lot of people will be watching from Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an opportunity that would be fantastic, and I would definitely love to see it in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The trophy that both women are hoping to hold up.\u00a0via Getty Images<\/p>\n

While more representative opportunities is the next step that the Swans pair hope to see, Molloy said the game still has plenty of growing to do at club level. <\/p>\n

But despite hoping to win the flag as teammates this year, the pair have no plans to hold back when they face each other on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are representing your country, you don\u2019t consider who it is (in front of you),\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there is going to be any holding back or being too nice in the way we go about things. I don\u2019t think it will be an easy game in terms of physicality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of pride on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy agreed, adding: \u201cWe (the Irish) are just going to play heart over anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will go out there and give 100 per cent. We don\u2019t know any different. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are away from home, so we have a lot of motivation to be vulnerable with each other, understand everyone\u2019s perspective and find that goal for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy is backing her home nation to bring a raucous energy that will drown out Australia\u2019s fans. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Irish (fans) are going to roar the whole game,\u201d she said, \u201cI expect it to be very loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia and Ireland will face off at North Sydney Oval at 4.15pm AEST.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chloe Molloy believes the right steps are being taken to keep representative football in the women\u2019s game, even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":829249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-829248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}