THIS INTERNATIONAL Rules Series will be unlike any other with Australia represented for the first time by an all-indigenous team.
The All-Stars are just the second indigenous team to represent Australia abroad and will bring a level of speed, skill and wizardy to the series never seen before.
But captain Daniel Wells and his team will be up against it when the series kicks off with the first Test at Breffni Park in Cavan on Saturday night (Sunday morning AEST).
The Irish are masters of the round ball and the Aussies have been racing against time in their Ireland training camp to close the skill gap.
They know they won't be able to do so completely, so coach Michael O'Loughlin has encouraged his team to play within their limitations with the round ball.
Chiefly, O'Loughlin has urged his players to resist trying the low-percentage kicks the Irish can pull off, and to kick long into space whenever a teammate is in position to run onto the ball.
The Australians have had a secret weapon at their Ireland training camp with O'Loughlin's former Swans teammate Tadhg Kennelly joining his assistant coaching team to help pass on the nuances of Gaelic football.
In previous IRS series, the Australians have cashed in on their superior fitness at the end of games. But Kennelly says considerable sports science advances in Gaelic football over the past five years have helped the Irish team narrow the gap considerably.
Irish captain Michael Murphy will need to be fit this weekend because after Saturday night's game he has committed to play for his local Gaelic football club the following day.
Above all, the Australians know that one thing holds the key to their chances of victory in the first Test and the series – pressure.
O'Loughlin has been drumming into his charges the importance of forcing the Irish into mistakes, with corralling the most effective way of stopping their overlap run.
Brisbane Lion Ash McGrath has been entrusted with the vital goalkeeper job, but he will be relying on his teammates to help keep the Irish from finding the back of his net.
If the Australians bring a finals-like level of intensity to the first Test, they could be lifting the Cormac McAnallen Perpetual Trophy at the end of the series.
But if they give the Irish time and space to make the round ball sing, the home team will be almost unstoppable.
It promises to be a fascinating series.
