AUSTRALIAN coach Michael O'Loughlin says it all got too hard for some of his players in their record 79-point Test loss to Ireland.
O'Loughlin said Saturday night's defeat at Croke Park had left him feeling ill and as flat as he'd ever been after a game of football.
The Sydney Swans great admitted he had had to check himself when he spoke to his team after the game, saying he did not want to say something he would regret.
However, O'Loughlin's disappointment in his team's effort and ability to follow instructions was evident when he spoke with the media shortly after the game.
"We kept it really simple but I guess some guys aren't able to follow instructions," O'Loughlin said.
"So we're not singling anyone out, but there was just some really terrible decision-making on our part.
"Our execution again, for whatever reason, we want to kick the ball all the time when our message was to use our hands and our leg speed.
"But I guess that almost comes down to work rate. You've got to be able to run and carry and some guys don't want to do that because sometimes it's hard and we don't want to do the hard stuff.
"That's the reality of it."
O'Loughlin, however, could not question the enthusiasm and the commitment of the players to be part of the IR series, describing it as outstanding.
The coach said they were incredibly flat after the game
"Australia is watching, their people are watching, you can imagine how flat they would be with the margin," O'Loughlin said.
"I honestly thought we came into this game (well prepared) and we started so well, but in the end it was probably all huff and puff I guess.
"You stand up and you face the music and this is what these players are going to have to do now. They're going to have to face the music when they get back home, the text messages, the phone calls – that's life."
O'Loughlin said the absence of star players such as Adam Goodes, Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli and Shaun Burgoyne had hurt the Aussies on Saturday night, but lavished praise on the Irish team.
"I actually enjoyed watching them there for a while. It got to a point where you were just admiring the way that they played and they've got some super talent," he said.
Goodes said the all-Indigenous team Australia fielded in this year's series had always been considered a one-off venture, with the one-sided result not a sign the IRS rules had to be changed to help the Australians bridge the gap to Ireland.
"Unfortunately, we just didn't have a team that could compete with the experts, the big boys," he said.
"But I'm pretty sure that Australia can get a team together to match that. They have in the past and I think they'll continue to do that in the future."
Irish coach Paul Earley agreed.
"Sometimes there are reactions to big defeats. Ireland was defeated by 100-64 in 2005 by a very, very strong and very skilful Australian team," Earley said.
"If Australia was to put its best team out, I believe they would be very close games. So I don't there's a necessity to tamper with the rules whatsoever."
