"No problem, " replied Sheedy. "When you get down there, just tell the blond boy Geraghty that I'm watching him from up here." He said it with a wink and a grin that was eagerly returned by Boylan, suggesting both are resigned to the side carnival that has once again attached itself to the series. Following the hoopla of last year's Chris Johnson incidents, was it asking too much to finally have an Ireland-Australia clash that wasn't so mired in off-field shenanigans? Of course it was.

"Listen mate, " Sheedy said after Boylan was already on his way to the pitch, "last year's trouble lasted only three minutes. It was that quick. Everybody forgot about what happened for the rest of those two games. But those three minutes packed the house here for this game."

Sheedy is genuinely enthused by the hybrid game and speaks of long-term plans and building a progressive Australian squad to compete and reach its apex over the next few years. "In general, we're here with a plan to redirect a change in Australian football towards international rules. We've played 40 new players in the last two years and in three years' time we would hope to have the best squad we've ever picked."

Still, as he said earlier in the week, he's happy enough for now to live with the warts that arise from this annual joust. And so, unquestionably, are the citizens of Ireland. Eighty-two thousand people . . . a hefty chunk of those children, by the way . . .

head to Croke Park today to make up the biggest home crowd ever to watch an Irish team compete. Most will hope that what's on offer will surpass last week's clash in terms of intensity and physicality. Many will expect to see some blood spilled, just for good measure.

It's easy, as Irish captain Kieran McGeeney pointed out, to sit in the stands and in front of a television screen and conclude that a game lacks bite and the tackles lack ferocity.

From an Australian point of view, Sheedy looked on last Saturday's Galway game as being close to what this meeting should bring. "The second, third and fourth quarters were getting it pretty right. That was a real contest. I'd like it to be a bit more skilled and maybe five per cent more competitive."

All the same, he's promising that the pace and, yes, the intensity, will be increased for today's game.

He looks out again at the Irish team going through their pre-training routine and says the Australians didn't come here to embarrass themselves.

"It was difficult to prepare for that last match. It was important to get it under our belts and we'll improve because of that. We'll play good footy. Much better than we did two years ago." By now, Barry Hall has stepped outside the suite and looks across Croke Park, and then sits with a plate of potatoes, beef and gravy on his lap.

He spots his Sydney Swans teammate Tadhg Kennelly.

Barry, what's it like playing against Tadhg? "Piece-acake, " he responds and he lofts a wedge of spuds into his mouth. "Only jokin'. We'll have a good muck about on Sunday." And then another potato disappears.

This is the game that Australia have come for. Sheedy made that clear this week and he finds heart not only in the way that the series has been popularised in Ireland this year, but in Australia as well. "Back home 700,000 people watched last week's game on the telly, so we're building something great here. The speed of the game, the smaller pitch, the need for the players to think quicker. That's what attracts the Australians to the international rules. We've filled Croke Park and now the challenge is to sell out venues six months in advance. I really believe we can do that. You never know when the wave starts, " the coach says cryptically. "But listen, I'll tell you what, they'll see the game on Sunday and they'll want to come back again and again.

They'll say 'book me in now.'" In that case, with bated breath we do wait.