Two years ago then Australian coach Dermott Brereton said that one of the things he would change if he could was the standard of the warm-up matches for the travelling teams. In Ireland's case it's a practice session with the AFL Academy players, many of whom at least have the advantage of having played in the under-17 International Rule series.
But for the Australians it was a case of another Dublin selection. Although it was a stronger outfit than had provided the opposition in 2000, this year's version was similarly outclassed in yesterday's practice match in aid of Cumann na mBunscol at Parnell Park, Dublin.
The game is hard enough for elite players to grasp after a series of intensive training camps but for club players with only a session or so under their belts it's next to impossible. Add that to the chasm in fitness and conditioning between professional athletes and essentially recreational footballers and the international project owes them a debt of gratitude for turning out at all.
It's hard to know what either the AFL or GAA can do about these warm-up matches given that International Rules is only played at an elite or underage level and it's hard to imagine a team wanting to train simply in order to provide one practice match.
Anyway most eyes were trained on the Australians with a view to how they were looking four days before the first Test on Sunday in Croke Park. It would have to be said that for players less than 24 hours off a long-haul flight they were fairly eye-catching.
Ireland manager John O'Keeffe was among those taking note. "I'd say I was greatly impressed," he said, "considering they flew in overnight. They're very comfortable on the ball, their kicking is impressive and their mobility, particularly the bigger players.
"I noticed their ability to catch in the full-forward line and they look like they've done work on their kicking. Kick-outs looked planned. They're also getting extra players back. The small guys around goal impressed me: Yze, Milne and Brown. They've also been creating goal chances like I haven't seen before."
O'Keeffe will have been warned by the speed and mobility of the Australians as a unit. They moved the ball fluidly from the back and appeared very confident in their use of the round ball. One tactic in particular that caught Dublin time and again was their running through the mark rather than holding onto the ball and taking a free kick.
In defence they were solid and with Andrew Kellaway, who missed last year's series, back in goal - a position the visitors naturally struggle to fill as it doesn't feature in Australian Rules - there was no fragility in the square.
Matthew Scarlett and the veteran Craig Bradley caught the eye with linking runs from the back but overall it was hard to disagree with O'Keeffe's analysis that the smaller (relatively), ball-playing forwards looked the most potent weapon in the visitors' armoury.
Three of them have played Internationals Rules at under-17 level. Chris Judd, Cameron Ling and the incisive Daniel Kerr looked very comfortable on the ball and will trouble Ireland.
A menacing aspect was the seven goals scored by the visitors. The quality of the build-up play sliced the hosts apart and some of the finishing was equally accomplished.
The visitors led 28-13 after the first quarter (15 rather than the 20 minutes played at Test level), 67-17 at half-time and 78-23 at the end of the third quarter. Of the home side Dublin captain Coman Goggins battled hard and the venerable Vinny Murphy top scored and looked capable of more had there been any service from the middle.
SCORERS: Australia - N Brown 25 (2-3-4), Neitz 13 (1-2-1), Milne 13 (2-0-1), Kerr 11 (0-3-2), Yze 10 (1-1-1), Pavlich 7 (0-1-2), Judd 6 (1-0-0), Johnson 5 (0-1-2), Cornes 4 (0-1-1), Darcy 4 (0-1-1), Ling 4 (0-1-1), Lekkus, Primus, Crawford 1 (0-0-1) each.
Dublin All Stars - Murphy 10 (0-3-1), Kelly 3, Byrne 3, McNally 3 (0-1-0 each), Crawford 2 (0-0-2), Devine, Crimmons 1 (0-0-1) each.
AUSTRALIA: A Kellaway, C Johnson, B Montgomery, M Bickley, C Bradley, B Scott, M Pavlich, C Ling, S Crawford, A Lekkas, A Simpson, D Neitz, A Yze, C Bruce, M Primus, W Tredrea, J Francou, C Cornes, S Milne, R Murphy, C Judd, D Kerr, N Brown, L Darcy, M Scarlett, J Clement.
DUBLIN: A Durnan, C Goggins, M McMullan, G Norton, B Kelly, D McCormack, T Behan, G Reilly, D Carew, E Horgan, D Maxwell, R Gallagher, P Doherty, P Bealin, P Bealin, D McCague, D Crimmons, C Broderick, V Murphy, E Sheehy, D Byrne, C Smith, J Sweetman, G Devine, J McNally, D Homan, M Breathnach, P Courtney, M Devoy, D Brennan, D Marshall.
Referees: Brian White (Wexford) and Brian McClaren (Australia).
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