Australia will be treating their Irish opponents as professionals rather than amateurs in Saturday's one-off International Rules Test.

Facing the Irish media for the first time after holding their first training session at Paterson's Stadium in Perth earlier today, All Australian stars Brendon Goddard, Robbie Gray and Steve Johnson revealed their respect for the tourists when asked how much of a disappointment it would be if the Australians were to "lose to a bunch of amateurs who have day jobs".

Essendon star Goddard is quoted on the AFL website as saying: "It's not about being amateurs.

"They're experts in their sport and have the advantage of kicking a round ball, which is quite difficult to us. But we're not using that as an excuse.

"You can classify yourself as amateurs, but we see you guys as pros and experts in your field. You're elite at the game of Gaelic. We're not underestimating Ireland (even) when you chuck the word 'amateur' in there."

Gray, who played in the 2011 series which Ireland won comfortably over two legs, said: "We had the opportunity to represent our country, and it was a very disappointing result over the two matches. We're looking to make amends this year and looking to get a good result on Saturday."

Johnson agreed that the Aussies are under pressure to perform given the quality that's in their squad.

"If you look around at our playing list, certainly there's a bit of pressure on us to perform," Johnson said.

"But everyone knows how talented these Irish players are with the round ball. We probably haven't had our most talented teams in the last couple of years, and they've really shown us up."

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