Australia coach Rodney Eade admitted his side lacked aggression after they were crushed by Ireland by a record margin of 44 points in Friday's opening International Rules Series match.

Ireland won 4.17.5 (80) to Australia's 1.8.6 (36) at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium before a modest crowd of 22,921, with the second and final game to be played at Gold Coast on November 4.

It was the biggest margin in the history of the series, which dates back to 1984.

Eade was mindful during the week of being careful to avoid the brawling antics of the 2006 series, which led to Ireland cancelling the 2007 contests.

But he says his men probably were too timid and need to lift their physical aggression for the Gold Coast clash.