Humiliation and hurt drove Aussies: Lyon

THE lessons learned from "embarrassing" home defeats 12 months ago proved crucial in Australia's triumph in the Coca-Cola International Rules Series, manager Garry Lyon said yesterday.

Decribing it as one of the highlights of his career, Lyon said everybody involved was aware of the importance of being better at converting chances.

"We just really needed to put a lot of pressure on the opposition and take away all the space they like to move in, because we know how good they are."