‘Responsible adults’: Aussies ‘earnt’ right to celebrate as coach probed on English criticism

Australia coach Andrew McDonald says his players have “earnt the right” to celebrate their Ashes win but called them “responsible adults”.

It comes after Aussie players sported ‘Ronball’ t-shirts during their much-deserved celebrations, with their off-field exploits juxtaposed with those of the English players while down 2-0 in the series.

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McDonald said the Australian players were “responsible adults” when asked about the balancing act between celebrating their victory and focussing on finishing the series strong.

“They’ve earnt that (the right to celebrate),” he began during his Tuesday press conference.

“They’re responsible adults, they know what they’ve got coming up. They know there’s a game at the MCG, World Test Championship points on the line — and that’s something that drives this group; it’s a huge motivator — and the ability to win more Test matches for Australia.

“They always strike that balance. There’s no instructions from me around that.

“As I said, they’re all adults, they know how they need to get ready for a Test match, and they’ll be ready for Boxing Day morning.

“I don’t think there’ll be any hangover. Maybe yesterday there was a hangover, and maybe today, I’m not sure.”

McDonald was also quizzed on criticism English players had faced for how they were spending their off-field time — headlined by reports of days-long drinking by some players after their loss in Brisbane.

“I think you’re entitled to judge people for what they do in terms of their preparation, but we’ve got a change room full of adults, and they know what’s at stake,” McDonald said.

“They know the Boxing Day Test is a certain amount of days away, and that’s how we treat our players — they’re adults, they make choices.

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“Sometimes they make mistakes … but generally speaking, I think if you’ve got the ability to treat them like adults, they make good decisions.

“They know what’s coming up. There’s a short turnaround, and they’ll be prepared and ready to go.”

But asked specifically about English players’ behaviour, McDonald said: “Have they been drinking? I don’t know if they’ve been drinking.

“I’m sure that they might’ve had a beer or two here or there, and they’re entitled to do that as adults.”

It comes after the emergence of the ‘Ronball’ t-shirts during Australian celebrations.

Asked what he made of the t-shirt, McDonald said: “‘Heady’s (Travis Head) pretty cheeky.

“He’s a cheeky individual. I didn’t know what to make of it, really. It was an old picture, that’s what it was.

“Bit of a joke — no one’s safe in our change room; that’s how I take it.

“The boys are full of banter and always make it fun, so I think it was a bit of fun.”

McDonald said he recalled posing for the now-popularised photo.

“I actually do remember the picture,” he said.

“I was 14 … I was selected, I think, for a country coaching class to go to Sydney.

“I don’t know why they make people pose like that, but that’s what they did back in the day.”

Asked if it was humbling to have that sort of recognition, McDonald said triumphs such as this summer’s Ashes win would be reflected on fondly “in time”.

“I think it takes an entire group of people to achieve what we have been able to achieve in the last few years,” he said.

“We’ve got an incredibly important support staff, coaches, team behind me that make it all work.

“Is it humbling? I don’t know. You sort of move forward and even sitting here today, it’s people reflecting on the Ashes series and yesterday it was full of work.

“I think when you win something you get a day off and (then) you’re get back into it.

“We’ve got some key (selection) decisions to make and we’re always moving forward, so I think it’s something we’ll always reflect on in time.

“But yeah, a huge shout out to our staff … I think the players are really grateful for the work that the support staff does as a whole.”