Pete McGrath was concerened for the safety of his players

Australian captain Chris Johnston was sent-off in Melbourne in a game marred by a series of violent incidents.

"There were some tackles which were highly dangerous and players could have been very, very seriously injured," McGrath told RTE.

"It's unfair to ask amateur players to subject themselves to that risk."

He added: "There were some tackles which would be unacceptable in any sport and there were situations where players were put at serious risk."

There is now a serious doubt over the future of the annual international rules series.

However, McGrath also had praise for the Australians who won the Cormac McAnallen Cup after a 163-106 aggregate success over the two Tests.

"For a while the game turned extremely nasty although that was the only blight on the game," said the former Down boss.

"Apart from the instances of villainy that team is the best ever to represent Australia.

"We restored pride and self-esteem after the first Test and were only eight points behind at the end of the third quarter.

"We were in with a real chance of winning and that was objective.