Australia favourites in open spaces of Croke Park

International Rules First Test: In many ways what happened on Saturday night went along predicted lines. I always expected Ireland to get out of the blocks first, and build up an advantage in the first quarter. They got a handle on the game far quicker than the Australians.

Yet I was very surprised at how tentative the Australians appeared, in all aspects, which I'd never seen before. Their kicking and handling of the ball was very poor and I was particularly amazed at how they weren't fully committed to the breaking ball.

On top of that, their physical approach seemed way off. They were obviously told to be on their best behaviour, and for all these reasons it was like they were just feeling their way into the game, and that allowed the Irish to take advantage. I suspect Ireland's big regret is they didn't pull further ahead in that first quarter, because they certainly had a lot more scoring chances.

Credit must go to Seán Boylan and the Irish management for the spirit they've instilled into the team. Every player worked hard for each other. I can only imagine how the Australians must be regretting trying to play down the clock for the two last minutes or so. It proved a very poor tactic, showed a bit of complacency, and Ireland deserved to take full advantage of that with Joe Bergin's crucial and brilliantly taken goal.

It took a long while for the game to catch fire, the opening two quarters were very tame. After that, though, I felt it was a very exciting contest, especially after the Australians introduced the more physical dimension.

I still feel the Australians look like the better team. Outside of Barry Hall and Ryan O'Keefe they lacked enough three-point kickers, and that could hurt them again on Sunday, but I feel the open spaces of Croke Park will suit them more. It's still finely balanced, it's just I expect Australia to get more possession again. If they can make more use of it they can definitely close the eight-point deficit.

There are many areas where Ireland can improve. Alan Quirke was taking more of his kick-outs off the ground and this fell into the hands of the Australians, who cover ground so well and will always get men under the ball when they have a chance like that. That's one tactic for the Irish to work on for next Sunday, and be more careful of how they use that possession. The Irish defence was under tremendous pressure, and while they did have a massive work rate, they gave up more possession than they should have.

Kieran McGeeney played a superb role, holding down the middle of the defence. He was tactically very astute, and helped ensure the Australians had a hard time getting the ball into Hall. It was like the Irish had surrendered midfield, and instead made sure they covered all spaces in the back line, as a result the Australian goal chances were always at a premium.

Ireland should be more capable of scoring goals, but like we've seen in the past that didn't materialise here, largely down to goalkeeper Dustin Fletcher, who was one of their outstanding men. His kick-outs and handling of the ball were very confident. But his job was made a little easier when Ireland kicked several balls straight into his hands, rather than ensuring the ball went that extra distance, or at least went out for a one-pointer, and killed it.

Ireland also lost far too many throw-ins. In the end, though, Ireland really have to be thankful they had Steven McDonnell. His three-point kicking was superb, off the left or right foot, and he was my man-of-the-match.

As we've seen so many times the Australians took over in the third quarter, while the Irish seemed to switch off. It was like Australia went from second to fourth gear and while they went 33-29 ahead at the end of the period they could have easily have gone a lot more.

At that stage the Australians finally got a bit more physical. Their support play improved a great deal and it looked as if the Irish were about to wilt badly. To their credit they dug in and never surrendered. I was quite surprised at how fresh they looked in the final quarter, which suggested they used their interchange players very wisely.

Several Irish players stood out. Colm Begley, who I have to say looks a far better player because of the professional training he's had in Australia, was excellent. Alan Brogan was able to cover the ground very well, helping out in the defence as well, and SeáCavanagh is suited to the game, and well able to get himself into a good position.

Kevin Reilly also impressed me with his physical presence, and went shoulder-to-shoulder with the Australians, and Aidan O'Mahony and Tom Kelly showed good strength on the ball. That was one of the problems for Kieran Donaghy. Despite his size he's a relatively light man and was quite easily pushed off the ball. He couldn't cover the ground as well as he needed to, but that's not to say he shouldn't be used as an out-and-out target man in the next game.