The International Rules disciplinary tribunal handed down severe suspensions to the two Australians before it at a meeting in AFL headquarters in Melbourne.

Matthew Scarlett has been given a three-match ban for thumping Dessie Dolan whereas the retiring Mark Bickley will miss what was to be the last match of his career.

Australian manager Garry Lyon backed the tribunal's findings. "The guys are highly regarded but they stepped outside the boundaries of what's allowed. The rules are in place for a good reason and the guys have paid a high price.

"They're shattered. Mark Bickley hoped to go out on a big occasion and Matty will also miss the big crowd as well as next year's tour."

John O'Keeffe, the Ireland coach, was keen to emphasise he hadn't found the first Test over physical. "It was played in a very good spirit by both teams. I have been asked a lot about the tackle and physicality of the game but we're well aware of the rules and have no problem with them."

There was some comment on the severity of the suspensions and the fact that Irish players didn't attend the tribunal hearing. Privately, GAA officials expressed the view that the punishments were a bit harsh and also made the point that an appeals process needed to be established.

At present, the protocol governing discipline is that of the home association, the GAA in Ireland and the AFL in Australia, but there is no appeals structure.

The AFL indicated that otherwise they would have appealed.

The Irish players who co-operated with the investigation of the Scarlett-Dolan incident did not attend the tribunal. "The fact is that the lads are trying to focus on football on Friday night. They have given statements and didn't want to miss more training," O'Keeffe explained.

"These procedures are new to the players, who wouldn't normally have to attend a tribunal on the week of a major game. I felt that there was enough evidence. We weren't going out of our way to make sure that that these guys got suspensions."

O'Keeffe also went out of his way to commend the referees in this year's series, Wexford's Brian White and Stephen McBurney of the AFL. "I thought both did well and would like to compliment the Australian referee who was very fair."

With the decisive second Test coming up tomorrow both managers have their concerns. O'Keeffe revealed that Laois defender Tom Kelly had missed training after straining a thigh muscle but he is confident the player will be fit.

Lyon will be missing his two suspended players and also announced that Jess Sinclair will be out with injury. The Kangaroos defender has strained a quad muscle, leaving his team "down to base numbers", according to the Australian manager.

Meanwhile, numbers on the spectators' front are encouraging. The AFL announced yesterday they had pre-sold 40,000 tickets for the MCG, a huge number by Melbourne standards.

Attendances in the city tend to be walk-up, particularly in the MCG, which has a huge capacity (currently around 80,000 because of renovation work after which the famous ground will hold 110,000) and generally doesn't have to limit crowds.

Two years ago the comparable figure in the week of the Melbourne Test was 10,000 and 50,000 turned up.

The only cloud - literally - on the horizon is the weather, which is unseasonably poor and could have an impact on the attendance.

Melbourne viewing figures for the Perth Test were 560,000, which accounted for more than half the nationwide audience. The city is the epicentre of the AFL, which rules sporting preferences to the extent that Channel 7, the Rugby World Cup rights holder, screened films in Melbourne instead of rugby, which went out live in Sydney last Sunday.