In the opening test of the Toyota International Rules Series at Subiaco Oval, Ireland never surrendered the lead after trailing 18-19 late in the first quarter and did lead by as much as 17 only to hold on and win by a point.
Cavanagh was brilliant after playing an All-Ireland match on Sunday and arriving in Perth on Tuesday, but he wasn’t satisfied with the Irish not being able to take advantage of the big leads it held.
"With us holding a big lead it was always going to be tough for us to hold on with the Australians pegging us back, and we might have defended a bit too much with the man advantage. We could have pushed up and attacked a bit more but at that stage the mission was to just win the first Test," Cavanagh said.
"You have to give credit to Australia for coming at us and we have a lot of improvement to make for Melbourne. But it's a start.
"The biggest improvement we need to make is to kill off teams. We went into the fourth quarter with a big lead and we tried to defend it too much. Hopefully we can get that out of our system now and push on more if we get a lead again."
The biggest thing Cavanagh has noticed about this series so far is the tremendous mutual respect both countries are showing to one another. That and the tremendous support the Irish received in Perth highlight why he believes the concept should stay around.
"Both sets of players have bought into the sportsmanship. The meeting on Wednesday made a massive difference as we had never done that before," he said.
"We then shook hands before and after the game and that mutual respect was a massive difference this time around compared with past series. That also showed during the game and while there were plenty of big hits, it was one of the most enjoyable guys I've played in.
"People back home ask why you want to come out here to play this game, but when you see plenty of Irish supporters in the stands in the tri-colours screaming and singing, it's fantastic and answers that question quite easily."
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The 2008 Toyota International Rules Series: Australia v Ireland
Second Test – MCG, Melbourne, Friday October 31
Tickets on sale now at ticketmaster.com.au, by calling 1300 136 122 or at a Ticketmaster outlet.
For full coverage of the 2008 series, click here.
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