The Australian midfielder conceded his side was worried when the margin ballooned out to 17 points early in the final quarter on Saturday night, but said his teammates backed their supreme fitness to rein the Irish in, eventually going down by one point at Subiaco Oval.
"They put everything on the line and so did we," Wells told afl.com.au after the match. "The best thing about it is the way we fought back, it was brilliant.
"The way the game works with aggregate it's going to be a pretty exciting game next week.
"It's pretty much like the first game and winner takes all."
Wells said the Australians had a clear advantage over the Irish with their fitness and pressure skills but would need to lift these again next week to retain the Cormac McAnallen Cup.
The Kangaroos midfielder also conceded his side needs to address its troubles with the round ball.
"We've only had a couple of weeks to get used to kicking it ... but if we keep it short and use our hands we'll be OK," he said.
"The longer we [kick it], the more we tend to shank it off the side of the boot because it's pretty hard to kick actually.
"(But) we always knew we weren't going to be as good as they were with hitting targets."
The Australian side was upbeat in the rooms post-match, with the pain of defeat eased by the gutsy nature of their last quarter comeback.
It was a performance Wells said might even attract an extra 10 to 15 thousand supporters to the decider next week.
"It was just so exciting," he said. "I watched most of the last quarter and I felt like someone in the crowd, I got right into it. The players on the bench were getting really excited and it's a terrific game."
"Country versus country, it doesn't get any bigger than that."
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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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