THE SAME faces carrying furrowed brows on Friday wore grins on Saturdays as the Australians tore through an intra-squad practice match at the New York Jets multi-million dollar training facility.
The unscheduled stop at the NFL club came about after the original venue was ruled out due to an unsuitable surface.
This created a flurry of phone calls between Gillon McLachlan, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the manager of the Jets' facility to rectify the problem.
By the time the team gathered in a meeting room in the lower lobby of their Manhattan hotel on Saturday morning the problem had been solved and they began preparations for the session with renewed enthusiasm.
The IRS diaries: Follow our writers travelling with the team
Forty-five minutes out of Manhattan by bus, the training facility is everything a club such as Hawthorn might dream of having one day.
Huge banners of former champions including Joe Namath drape the white walls of the hangar-like indoor facility that has artificial grass underfoot.
An elevated view of the Jets' facility in New York. Picture: Lachie Cunningham, AFL Media
As an example of what the business of sport is these days few are better, and it was a good time for the Australian team to begin to get down to business.
After some leg stretching at Central Park on Thursday, an NFL game, a jumper presentation and the appointment of Luke Hodge as captain and then an NBA game on Friday night, there was a sensory shift on Saturday morning.
Vision was being shown, the three coaches Alastair Clarkson, Ross Lyon and Chris Scott were making their points to the group in their own style and the team's leaders were speaking up from the back seats to ensure the message translated from the meeting room to the ground.
And then they played a game.
No scores were kept, but goals were celebrated, instructions given and even a whistle blown early when a coach feared a collision might occur.
The Australians tuning up for their Test against the Irish. Picture: Lachie Cunningham, AFL Media
Notwithstanding a couple of stars being unavailable, this was the best of the best at work, together, in the national jumper, showing with a round white ball why they dominate the winter game played with a red oval ball.
Beginning playing to instructions, as their professionalism demanded, they began to combine better later as they simply played the game.
It might be a hybrid game but when the game's stars combine it whirrs with the pace of a jet.
As Clarkson told AFL.com.au, when he looks up in a meeting room and sees Robbie Gray, Luke Breust, Jake Stringer, Eddie Betts and Nick Riewoldt sitting near each other he knows he has a forward line with a few options.
This team wants to win and it's doing the work to make it possible.
Assistant coach Tadhg Kennelly talks with Alastair Clarkson. Picture: Lachie Cunningham, AFL Media
