Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. Forget for the moment the grand guignol of yesterday's extraordinary indiscipline and assume, whether wisely or not, that the GAA and the AFL will sort out the assorted felonies (on both sides), and we're still left with a mess.
Australia duly dusted off the International Rules series in Melbourne, and, although Ireland were feistier than a week ago, they were still outclassed in what should be their chosen specialities of the round ball and their ability to kick it.
When the statistics are collated they will doubtless show that modern Gaelic football is fast eliminating the fundamental skill of how to kick. Over the two Tests this year Australia out-scored the visitors in relation to points, or overs, in the international game, by 45-20.
This is the very area in which Ireland hoped to hold and exploit an advantage. Instead, they were outdone by more than two to one.
Asked whether the dying influence of kicking in Gaelic football had created this logical consequence at international level, Ireland manager Peter McGrath was inclined to agree.
"You could have a point there, because kicking down through the years has been our strong point. But if you did an analysis of that match and the last one you'd probably find that there were a lot of unforced errors, kicks that went astray that normally wouldn't have gone astray."
There was a host of other oddities about yesterday's match: the first to be played indoors as the Telstra Dome closed its roof, leaving temperatures in the mid-20s; the first that Australia have won in Melbourne over the 21 years of the series; and the only year - apart from 1990 - that no goals were scored in a Test. And that the aggregate score was the record for a series.
Yet this wasn't an impossible task. The Australians didn't start on as high a voltage as they had in Perth, and the chances were there for Ireland to reassert control of their traditional stomping ground in the first quarter.
Graham Canty was moved out to centrefield, and in his absence Tom Kelly was brilliant at full back. But the former captain rounded off a disappointing series with a subdued display in an unaccustomed international position.
In the end a meagre two-point lead, 13-11, was a disappointment, because chances hadn't been taken and a Benny Coulter goal had been disallowed as a free had already been awarded to Seán Cavanagh, who had earlier had a goal chance saved by Dustin Fletcher when Dessie Dolan was better placed to pull the trigger.
More frustratingly, Australia were frequently capable of setting up handy marks near goal. Neither the cover defender marking the provider on the wing nor the defender inside appeared capable of disrupting this simple tactic, and Matthew Lappin and Ryan O'Keefe took advantage.
Positive aspects of the quarter, and indeed the match, were the displays of the Laois players Tom Kelly - who was justly named Ireland's man of the series (joint captain Andrew McLeod was the Australian equivalent after two stylish Tests full of running and clever continuity play) - and Ross Munnelly, who was able to use his energetic running style constructively despite lacking serious bulk.
But otherwise it was largely a case of the wrong golf clubs. Too many finishing forwards had been brought, presumably on the basis that Ireland would control a lot more of the two Tests than turned out to be the case.
Further handicapped by a below-par display from Coulter, Ireland's forwards put up a very poor total, equalling the worst on record, with Munnelly on seven points the top scorer among the starting attack.
This week the defence moved better, partly because their opponents didn't seem quite as rapacious and partly because debutant Ryan McMenamin had an impact.
But once again the big failings were up front. Too often the route out of the Australian defence wasn't blocked and the home side were able to swarm upfield and enact their favourite move: down the wing and kicked back inside for a mark.
The second quarter was Ireland's worst. Colm Cooper's only score was a behind when he had a slight angle on goal, and his series total of two points is a huge disappointment given his pre-eminent standing in the game at home.
Moments later Johnson had been dismissed for running a clothesline tackle on Philip Jordan. There was a lot of bad feeling over the provision that allows red-carded players be replaced and, from the noises made, it's possible the rules on this point will be reviewed.
But O'Keefe and Nick Davis landed a couple of overs each, which easily outweighed Ireland's paltry five points, and by half-time the Test had headed south, at 31-18.
McGrath and the Irish management were happy with the determination and comeback, particularly in the third quarter, the traditional "moving quarter" that is normally Australia's domain.
Instead, the margin was pulled back to eight, 40-32. Trent Croad was yellow-carded for being the third man into a brawl that featured Luke Hodge so strongly that you wondered whether a "first-man-in" rule might be an idea too.
At the very end of the quarter, there was a further goal chance, but Cavanagh's shot and the rebound were cleared by Fletcher. Another chance came early in the final quarter but Anthony Lynch was at an acute angle and on his wrong foot.
Ireland still don't do the relentless adaptability of the Australian game, and Lynch up front was an example, although Matty Forde's fancy footwork late on saved a delicate situation at the back and Dublin's Bryan Cullen got a run in goal towards the end.
A power finish by Australia, with seven overs in the final quarter, quickly eroded Ireland's hopes of pulling out an unlikely win and ultimately stretched the winning margin to a dispiriting 21 for a 57-point aggregate win.
"We wouldn't like it happening to us," said Sheedy about Johnson's head-high challenge. "No doubt when we go to Ireland next year I've no doubt that the Irish will serve it up to Australia in Ireland. We've got to cop that."
Judging by this, they'll be lucky if there's anything to cop.
Match statistics
Ireland : 1. M McVeigh (Down); 25. S Ó hAilpín (Cork), 15. T Kelly (Laois), 21. R McMenamin (Tyrone); 13. P Jordan (Tyrone), 8. B Cullen (Dublin), 17. A Lynch (Cork); 4. S Cavanagh (Tyrone) 3. G Canty (Cork); 24. R Munnelly (Laois), 7. B Coulter (Down), 10. B Dooher (Tyrone); 14. P Joyce (Galway), 5. R Clarke (Armagh), 9. D Dolan (Westmeath). Interchange: 6. C Cooper (Kerry), 11. M Forde (Wexford), 12. D Heaney (Mayo), 16. SM Lockhart (Derry), 18. C McDonald (Mayo), 20. C McManus (Offaly), 26. S O'Neill (Tyrone), 27. T Ó Sé (Kerry).
Australia: 1. D Fletcher (Essendon); 9. L Gilbee (Western Bulldogs), 39. D Milburn (Geelong), 38. D Morris (Western Bulldogs); 13. D Giansiricusa (Western Bulldogs), 35. C Newman (Richmond), 3. B Deledio (Richmond); 15. L Hodge (Hawthorn), 23. A McLeod (Adelaide); 29. B Harvey (Kangaroos), 10. N Eagleton (Western Bulldogs), 12. M Lappin (Carlton); 36. A Davey (Melbourne), 2. C Johnson (Brisbane Lions), 7. N Davis (Sydney Swans). Interchange: 5. R O'Keefe (Sydney Swans), 6. S Grant (Kangaroos), 24. T Croad (Hawthorn), 29. B Harvey (Kangaroos), 30. J Waite (Carlton), 32. A Buchanan (Sydney Swans), 41, A Lovett (Essendon).
Referees: Mathew James (AFL) and Michael Collins (GAA).
Scorers
Australia: O'Keefe (0-4-2) 14, Lovett, Lappin (0-3-0) 9 each, Davis, Grant (0-2-0) 6 each, Buchanan, Davey (0-1-1) 4 each, Giansiricusa, Makepeace, (0-1-0) 3 each, Gilbee, McLeod, Eagleton, Waite, Milburn (0-0-1) 1 each.
Ireland: Cavanagh, Munnelly (0-2-1) 7 each, McManus, Clarke (0-2-0) 6 each, Dolan (0-1-1) 4, Joyce, McDonald (0-1-0) 3 each, Canty, Cooper, Coulter, Forde, Lynch, O'Neill (0-0-1) 1 each.
Cards - Red: Australia - Johnson (32 mins). Yellow: Australia - Croad (45 mins)
Attendance: 45,428
