ONLY All Australian players will be eligible to represent Australia in this year's International Rules Series under a raft of changes to the hybrid competition designed to revive the flagging rivalry with Ireland.

The AFL announced on Wednesday that the IRS would continue in Australia later this year with a one-off Test at Perth's Patersons Stadium on Saturday, November 22 – the first time in the competition's 30-year history that just one game will decide the series winner.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson will coach the Australian team, while Collingwood president Eddie McGuire's considerable spruiking skills will put to use when he takes on the promotional role of Chef de Mission.

The Australian team will not be selected exclusively from this year's All Australian team, with players selected in previous All Australian teams also eligible.

The series will almost certainly be played under modified rules too, with the AFL and Gaelic Athletic Association well advanced in rule discussions aimed at ensuring a broader range of AFL players can compete successfully under the hybrid competition rules.

AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said the League remained committed to the IRS and was keen to revive public and player interest in it after Ireland's stunning dominance of the 2011 and 2013 series.

"Australian and Irish fans want to see a spectacular and competitive contest played between the most talented AFL players and Ireland's best Gaelic footballers," Evans said.

"We are determined to restore the prestige and popularity of the International Rules Series between Australia and Ireland.

"The AFL and GAA continue to believe the IRS is an important opportunity for players from both codes to be recognised for their elite talent by receiving the honour of representing their country."

Evans acknowledged the AFL's inability to field the best Australian team in recent series had hurt the IRS's standing, but said the revamped 2014 format should help solve that problem.

"Ireland's players have proved extremely keen and competitive in recent times and so we simply cannot afford to put forward anyone less than the AFL's best players," Evans said.

"By limiting selection to All Australian players, by scheduling the Test later in the year at the end of most players' leave, and by amending the rules, we believe we will field a strong and competitive Australian side that will re-establish the event's standing in the eyes of fans.

"The calibre of AFL players and officials involved is clearly a vital component and the early personal commitment and enthusiasm of so many of the competition's big names augurs well for the future of the series."

Evans said the AFL had extensive discussions with stars including Travis Boak, Patrick Dangerfield, Darren Glass, Luke Hodge, Steve Johnson, Nic Naitanui, Scott Pendlebury, Nick Riewoldt, Joel Selwood and Jobe Watson to come up with a format that would attract the best AFL players back to the IRS.

In the past two series, Australia has fielded undermanned teams that have lost by record margins.

In 2011, the squad captained by Brad Green lost by a combined 65 points, while last year the all-indigenous team that travelled to Ireland was even more comprehensively defeated, losing by 101 points.

GAA president Liam O'Neill said such one-sided series had negatively affected attendances and general public interest in the IRS, but that this year's later fixture would assist enormously with player availability.

"A sell-out crowd in November and a competitive contest that engages attendance would certainly give us something to build on for the future," he said.

In the IRS's initial stint from 1984-1990, series consisted of three Tests, but a two-Test format has been used since the IRS was revived in 1998.

The 2014 series will be the latest ever played, with most previous series played in mid-to-late October.

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