IRELAND has once again shown why it has been so dominant at international Aussie Rules, this time defeating the United States to win the 2024 AFL Transatlantic Cup.

In an epic Grand Final, it went to over time but ultimately the Irish prevailed 7.6.42 to 4.6.30.

The action was free flowing early, with the ball bouncing back and forth between ends and scoring not very forthcoming.

The Americans did most of the attacking in the first term, but as much as the likes of Kaiya Sygulla and Connor-Jo Lewis were trying to propel things forward for the Freedom, Karen Lawlor, Amanda Brosnan and the rest of the Irish defence was proving hard to navigate past.

This all culminated in the Americans taking a three point lead into the first change as they also kept the Irish scoreless in the first term.

The Americans got the second term off to the perfect start, when Catherine Hoha slotted through the Freedom’s first goal and the first goal of the match in the opening minutes of the quarter.

The Irish then dominated the territory game but could not make it count on the scoreboard, before Amanda Boe popped up and really made the Banshees pay by kicking the USA’s second goal of the match.

Just as it looked like the Irish were going to go goalless in the quarter again. Siofra Keane popped up and kicked Ireland’s first goal of the match with less than a minute left in the half.

This saw the half time margin sit at seven points in favour of the Americans.

The Irish got the better of the starts to the third term, and after a goal from Grace Oldham things were all tied up on the scoreboard. However it was not too long before the Americans countered with a goal of their own after Boe kicked her second, but then Ireland countered right back to tie things up again with a goal from Shauna Kendrick.

The US did ultimately take a three point lead into the final quarter, but it was still anyone’s game to play for.

Ireland had the better start to the final quarter, and one behind at a time, ate away at the deficit.

The Banshees kept attacking their goals but took a long while to find a goal, thanks largely to the defensive exploits of Danielle Marshall. Eventually Shannon Stevenson broke free off the back of a pack and slotted through a goal to give the Banshees the lead.

However the Freedom were not going to lie down quietly, and with Boe’s third goal for the match the Americans had a one point lead.

As the time kept ticking down, the Irish were able to sneak a behind and the threat of extra time loomed. Ultimately it came down to 10 minutes of extra time to decide the match, in which the Irish proved to be too strong, kicking three goals straight to no score to ultimately emerge victorious.