International Rules Warm-up match: A couple of hundred people at Parnell Park yesterday witnessed a sluggish Australian side rely on their competitive nature to see off an enthusiastic Dublin selection. One thing is certain; there is a lot more to come from the current crop of Aussie Rules men.
Essentially, it was a run out to remove the cobwebs after a 23-hour flight and apart from the impressive Mathew Lappin picking up a quad strain it was a satisfactory session.
"There are a few things we didn't try today that we will try on Sunday. We just want to keep a few things up our sleeve," admitted Australia coach Gary Lyon after.
As this game evolves it's only natural that both teams have clearly learned simple lessons about each other's style.
The Gaelic footballer has learned to tackle and move the ball without hesitation, or suffer the consequences, while the Australians have developed a respectable short game.
Much to everyone's annoyance, the visitors elected not to wear the jersey they were allotted. This meant players had their team-mates' names emblazoned across their backs.
Lyon said afterwards there was no gamesmanship involved, he just told his players to grab a jersey and go and play.
"It was really worthwhile I reckon," he continued "It (the game) was badly needed from our point of view. We have a higher expectation than the way we played, obviously, but the boys just reminded me they got off a plane yesterday, so I'm really happy."
Lyon was slightly critical of the display from his forward-lines but felt yesterday was more about ironing out the creases.
"They played the way they play in AFL footie as opposed to the way they are supposed to play in this game that's why the practice match became so important for us."
The watching Irish manager, Pete McGrath, will have learned very little but he knows Ireland will not get an easy ride over the coming week. When the numbers were eventually figured out, it became evident Mal Michael was entrusted with the goalkeeping duties for Australia. He coped admirably with the new role despite conceding three goals.
"We hate to give up six points but, again, this is what practice matches are about. It's better for us to concede three or four today than three or four on Sunday. Had we gone through the whole game and never had our goalie challenged it would have been a wasted exercise," said Lyon.
As is the Aussie way, they began the contest at a snail's pace. However, their potential and intent was evident and by the sixth minute of play they were interchanging freely and held a slender lead thanks to a well struck goal from Lappin, a serious scoring threat if fit.
Thereafter, Australia held form long enough to stay in front and despite a well-taken goal from the excellent Shane Ryan, who now must be a contender for the second Test, they led 30-20 at the break thanks to some well-struck overs from Andrew Embley and Luke Ball.
The third quarter belonged to Australia with Nick Riewoldt adding his third over of the day to stretch their lead to 40-26, only for Ireland to grab the contest's third goal early in the final quarter from Declan Lally.
It got better for Dublin with Ryan going on a 50-yard gallop that finished with a smartly taken over.
When Val Sheridan added another goal in the closing stages a shock victory looked on but time ran out.
SCORERS: Dublin: S Ryan, D Lally 9 each; V Sheridan 6; R Boyle 4; H McInerney, R Archbold, D Cahill, W McCarthy 3 each; N Riewoldt 1 og. Australia: M Lappin, N Riewoldt 9 each; K Bowden 7; L Ball 4; J Hird, D Solomon, B Green, N Dal Santo, A McPhee 3 each; N Brown, A Didak 2 each; A Jones, M McVeigh, A Embley 1 each.
DUBLIN: P Copeland; M Cahill, D O Cororain, A Holly; P Casey, S Ryan, S O'Sullivan; H McInerney, K O'Malley; M Casey, J McNally, D Lally; E Crennan, R Boyle, W McCarthy. Interchanged players: K Cleere, D Cahill, C King, C Goggins, D Noonan, S Breathnach, V Sheridan, D Bastick, D Ducie, F Fitzgerald, S Cooke, R Archbold, R Lieghio.
AUSTRALIA: M Michael; L Ball, C Bruce, A Embley; R Haddrill, N Riewoldt, A McPhee; M Lappin, J Johnson; B Kirk, J Bolton, A Jones; J Hird, N Brown, B Green. Interchanged players: B Rawlings, A Didak, C Bolton, D Solomon, M Hudghton, M McVeigh, J Bowden, J Corey, M Braun, N Dal Santo.
Referee: M Collins (Cork).
