KEY POINTS:
The Australians talked a terrific game in Melbourne and the All Blacks need to respond in kind.
Mistakes cost the All Blacks dearly at the MCG, which had a marvellous atmosphere on Saturday night. If they had been more accurate, we wouldn't be analysing an All Black defeat.
The All Blacks made too many errors and their tactical kicking wasn't up to scratch, Dan Carter missed kicks at goal, and we just weren't accurate enough.
However, I thought the All Blacks were really hard done by with the crucial sinbinning of Carl Hayman. He'd actually stripped the Australian player of the ball while making the tackle.
But the All Blacks also need to be more streetwise.
The Aussie barrage began before the game when they zeroed in on the awesome All Black scrum, claiming they cheated.
Referee Marius Jonker appeared to be persuaded by their arguments and would not allow the All Black scrum to take charge.
George Gregan was allowed to manipulate the situation and he didn't actually put the ball into a scrum until the 31st minute.
Put it this way. It is bizarre to see a referee penalise the All Black scrum when it was rock solid on its own put-in and had the Australians backpedalling on their feed.
The Australians manipulated the referee really well. The talk didn't stop with the pre-match duels either. You should have heard Gregan and Stirling Mortlock yapping out there. Gregan was unbelievable - a man who had come for a gunfight.
All Black captain Richie McCaw didn't respond. Maybe Richie is too nice, and I feel he will have learned a lot in this department.
The All Blacks need to be more streetwise. Yes, there is a lot of leadership in that team, but they need to be more proactive.
McCaw had a brilliant game, though, getting involved two or three times in a phase which is phenomenal. The Wallabies were out to isolate him alright, hanging on to his legs.
Dan Carter, though, is below his best. We judge him by his own high standards, of course, which is tough at times. He just seems to be a bit flat - although this might be overly critical.
I reckon this Australian team would beat the All Blacks only two times out of 10.
In the end, the All Blacks didn't deserve to win because they made too many mistakes. Australia had only a few chances, and grabbed them.
The Australians will have to watch out for the Springboks in Sydney this week - the Springboks are a better team than people are claiming.
To my mind, the Aussies are still a struggling team who got away with a lot of illegal stuff on Saturday night.
The Springboks will be stung by the rubbishing they have received at home and the Australians will have to be careful after the high of beating the All Blacks.
