Lyon: our mistakes made Irish look like ‘supermen’

THE Australian International Rules side have slammed suggestions that their trip to Ireland was merely a junket.

The champions have been criticised in both hemispheres following their 36-point defeat to Ireland in the opening test at the weekend.

But manager Gary Lyon has come out fighting, vowing that his team will do likewise at Croke Park in the decisive game on Sunday (2.10pm, RTÉ TWO).

Lyon’s men set about restoring their battered reputation with a spirited workout in the pouring rain in Galway yesterday.

“You guys can make up your own mind, but I would have thought a junket was sleeping in until 11 o’clock and then a long lunch,” Lyon said.

“But here it is, freezing cold, pouring rain and they’re out here having a crack and not just going through the motions, but with good spirit.

“Trust me, it’s not a junket,” he told afl.com.au.

Lyon has had the generally scathing media coverage printed out and distributed to each of his players.

The players were also asked to bring pen and paper to their team meeting the night before, at which the match was painstakingly replayed and reviewed.

What the review did illustrate was that Ireland’s flying start to the match was largely the result of terrible field kicking from the visitors, according to Lyon.

“I reckon four or five of their first three-pointers came as a direct result of us kicking the ball right into their hands, and when you don’t look back at the match then you think you’re playing against a bunch of supermen. They’re not supermen. You’d love to sit there 25 metres out and have the ball land in your lap. It was good for the boys to realise that,” he said.

“You can’t just kick into their hands and not expect to be 25 points down at quarter-time.”

Lyon has also taken great umbrage at criticisms of the team’s preparation, saying that the approach to the game mirrored that of two years ago when they registered a famous win at Croke Park.

“That’s crap. I know people at home look for a reason, but that’s just ignorance. They don’t understand the game and if they looked at it as closely as we did they’ll see we were just out-pointed.”

“I get angry at suggestions that we didn’t prepare well because that’s a slight on the players, the coaching staff and on me. I’m happy to take anyone to task on that.”

Lyon hinted that he is likely to tinker with his team ahead of Sunday’s second test. Cameron Bruce is likely to move into the back line, while Austinn Jones is set to start, given his flair and excellent ball use.

The aim for Sunday is simply to salvage some pride, with it being considered highly unlikely that the 36-point winning margin required to retain the Cormac McAnallen Trophy will be achieved.

“We want to win the game, the rest of it will take care of itself,” he said.

“If you go there and try to win by 36 points, well that wouldn’t be the right way to go. We need to get back and win, and if things go right, well, anything can happen,” he said.

Matthew Lappin remains a doubt because of a quad strain, but Jude Bolton and Alan Didak will both be fit for selection.

The Australians will have a match practice session - with plenty of tackling - today before travelling to Ashford Castle for a night.

They return to Dublin tomorrow to fine-tune preparations for Sunday’s showdown.