Ireland's turn to do the homework
Most relate to their shortcomings in the opener, when Australia's superb performance yielded a record 100 points.
Management and players admit the Perth game was hugely embarrassing - even 'a disgrace,' as one privately conceded.
It was dictated by the power of the Australian play and an incredible kicking display. The Irish contributed to their downfall through sloppy passing and poor finishing.
Ireland scored only 11 three-pointers compared to the Australian's 27. And they had 13 behinds (one-pointers), almost twice the home total. Combined with the loss of two goal chances (when Benny Coulter and Brian McGuigan were tackled before shooting), those factors contributed significantly to the scoreline.
Tyrone star Stephen O'Neill, one of the newcomers to the series, agreed the Australians did their homework.
"They seemed to be prepared a lot better than us. That's something we are going to have to address.
"We expected a tough game, but we got that and more. They had four or five options and there were always 'men on the move.' The tackle, too, presented major difficulties for the Irish. They were getting a hand on us and hauling us down, whereas we were getting one and two hands on their players and they were able to manage to 'wriggle' free.''
Players and management admit privately to a degree of annoyance with some decisions made by the referee, especially in the crucial third quarter. It's something that will be raised at official level later in the week.
Additionally, there was anger in the Irish camp following the heavy tackle on Tom Kelly. It relates not so much to the tackle itself (the worst in the game, with the Laois star saying he was 'wide open') but on the reaction of the Australian player as he walked off the field.
"He came off laughing. I saw it myself on the big screen'' said O'Neill. "It was a disgrace.''
The Tyrone star also feels they need to use the inter-change more effectively, like the Australians - who reportedly monitored the Irish 'substitutions' and set out to counteract them.
"That's another thing we need to look at. It's like 'sevens' football at home, if you are tired, you get off. I came off a couple of times but I was standing in the forward line where I did not see to much of the ball. So, I wasn't tired."
Manager Pete McGrath decided to cancel a planned training session yesterday and give the players more time to relax. Having flown from Perth on an early flight on Saturday, the party moved to the coastal resort of Sorrento on the Mornington peninsula, about an hour's drive from Melbourne.
The management viewed a video of the match before the squad again came together last night to watch the game in its entirety.
Clearly, there will be a lot of soul-searching over the next few days. And, while it's considered improbable they will be able to overcome the 36 points deficit, one thing certain is that everybody concerned knows exactly what's in front of them in the Telstra Dome on Friday night. That wasn't the case at the weekend and Australian coach Kevin Sheedy admits as much.
"I'm sure the Irish are still feeling flat today, as they wouldn't have expected what we dished up,'' he wrote in yesterday's Herald Sun newspaper.
"Deep down they would have thought they had assembled the best side they had travelled with. We've done a fair bit of homework on their players and we were well prepared for what we were up against."
Sheedy, who admits to coming 'from old Irish stock,' is one of the longest serving AFL managers (with Essendon) and he described Friday night as 'one of the proudest' of his life.
Saying he was glad to take on the job, he admitted he hadn't been sure if he would be 'capable.' But, the commitment of the players and the support of the back-up team had combined to make last year's 'embarrassment' in Croke Park just a bad memory.
"Everything the coaching panel put to them, they took on board and worked very hard to achieve. We never thought we would get near 100 points. We needed to pick young players so we are strong going to Ireland next year," he said.
