Australia admit they were “shocked” by Ireland in Friday night’s record International Rules loss. The Irish team humbled Australia in the first of two clashes, winning 4.17.5 (80) to 1.8.6 (36).
The visitors mastered the round ball effortlessly and kicked effectively as the Australians struggled to find a way into the match.
Despite the scoreline, which eclipsed the previous record loss of 36 points in 2004, Australia’s James Frawley believes the home side can turn around the series with a win in the final game on the Gold Coast next Friday.
“Every game we go out to win and it’s 44 points (to retrieve next week) but we’ll go out and give it our all and try and score pretty quickly,” Frawley said.
“We’ve just got to get on the park and keep practising kicking that ball.
“I was a bit shocked. I suppose the pressure from our boys probably wasn’t there last night and that’s why they played so well.
“When they’re under pressure, that’s when they turn it over but we didn’t have them under enough pressure for most of the night.”
Australian coach Rodney Eade said his team had been too “nice” and not physical enough after brawling almost ended the series several years ago.
“We’ve got to get a bit more physical – they were more physical than us last night so we’ve got to step up a bit,” Frawley said.
“It seemed we were second-guessing ourselves but everyone was out there trying to win.
“Next week we have to get out there and show our aggression at the ball and at the opponents so hopefully next week we can turn it around for the boys.”
Richmond’s Jake King suffered a jarred knee and is in doubt for the next game while Hawthorn’s Liam Shiels had a corked thigh.
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