Australia coach Kevin Sheedy has called for a meeting of AFL players next year in order to map out their future in the International Rules series. Sheedy made the comments during an impromptu media conference at the team's training session yesterday when reflecting on his country's poor showing in last year's Tests in Croke Park.

"If we want a great series we have to put together a team that is capable of matching Ireland both here and when the games are played over there.

"What happened last year - though it wasn't the coaches' fault - can't happen again. Gary Lyon and the players were disappointed and felt that they let the Irish public down. With that in mind we have come back and had another look at things and as a result this is the first group of young players we've put together in this way.

"Hopefully we'll keep them together and we'll have a meeting in the middle of next year with the players who have been involved over the last number of years and discuss where this is going."

Sheedy, one of the most respected AFL coaches, has been in charge of Essendon since the early 1980s and led the club to four Premierships. His acceptance of the role as national coach was seen as a sign the Australians were intent on winning rather than just taking part in the series.

Almost immediately he let it be known he was going to prioritise pace and skill rather than the traditional Australian strengths of physical strength and aggression and picked a number of Aboriginal players - two of whom, Andrew McLeod and Chris Johnson, will jointly captain the team - reflecting the experience the indigenous population has tended to produce that type of footballer.

"Our strategy has changed because of the Irish team and the strengths that they showed last year. The emphasis on skill and speed was good planning by them and it made us adjust ourselves a little bit and come up with what might have been done in the first place.

"We lack experience but I see this as a building block for the next three to four years. I'd like to think that we will be competitive over that period both home and away and will not let ourselves down.

"We won't be outrun on Friday - we might be 'outexperienced' - but we won't be outrun like we were last year."

Asked about the low-key coverage of the upcoming Test and the attitude of the Australian public, Sheedy pointed to the obvious strength of ticket sales and the history of crowds since the series resumed in 1998.

"If it's sold out, which it virtually has, that's a good attitude. Last time around we had 60,000 people at the MCG and because that number won't fit into the Telstra Dome I think we'll have a sellout there too.

"You're in the middle of the most important racing season in Australian history and when it gets down to the Melbourne Cup and other big races that takes up an enormous amount of coverage.

"We've probably got eight of the best sport stadiums of any country in the world that has a population of 20-million. Basically football has built that for the sports-loving people.

"The International Rules series is a great chance to reward players and develop young men and help them move into a sphere in their lives where they are representing their country. It should be taken seriously."

This is the first time an Australian coach has taken such a structured approach to assembling a team with an eye on the future, so tomorrow promises to be as important a Test as the AFL have experienced since the series was again embraced seven years ago.