Then, meltdown. In a month we were talking of death threats and Australians happily partying their close season away, record thrashings and dwindling interest. At the press conference to announce the Australian squad last week the question of the players’ behaviour in Ireland was raised again, resulting in angry sneers from Garry Lyon, former manager now working as a commentator. The criticism hurt then, and will drive them on now. A few weeks after Australia returned home, Andrew Demetriou, chief executive of the Australian Football league, addressed a meeting of AFL clubs seeking to calm their concerns that the trip was increasingly being used as a junket by their employees.
The clubs were worried about the blurring of lines between the off-season and the resumption