I've only had two senior coaches throughout my career, Denis Pagan and Dean Laidley, so it's been great to spend some time with Mick and his assistants.
As captain, I've been invited to a few of their meetings and that's been really useful.
When I eventually retire, I want to stay involved in footy, so anything I can learn from Mick is a bonus, but Nathan Buckley, Glen Jakovich and Matty Lappin have a lot to share as well.
Matty and Glen are great, and even though he didn't captain Australia when he played, Glen could have. He's pretty outspoken and is one for getting the boys together all of the time.
Nathan should coach an AFL side because he's definitely got it. As a past skipper, it's been good for me having him around. He's always at me to make sure my voice is up at training and seeing that everything's running right.
I've also had a bit to say in the meetings in terms of playing this game. Being the most experienced player in the side, there's a fair few little things I know will help us.
It might even be something so small like getting a breather when you have a shot on goal to make sure the boys are manned up.
Mick hasn't coached International Rules before, and he overheard me talking to one of the staff about a few things we should mention to the group and agreed.
What's really good is that every single player and coach have had some input.
And that's why I think we'll beat the Irish. We're all going to be on the same level, so we're predictable to each other but unpredictable to them.
My role hasn't been too hard but, to be honest, any of these players could lead the country. No worries about that.
No-one has stood out to say 'here I am', but the guys are so professional.
International Rules is obviously a great opportunity to meet players from other clubs. When you start playing AFL footy, you don't think you're going to be playing for Australia.
It's just something that comes along and you can't pass it up.
Over the years I've made some fantastic friends through the series, and I still keep in contact with Brad Johnson and Lindsay Gilbee from the Bulldogs.
And all you've got to do is learn something small from a couple of the players and you can walk away a wiser footballer.
Some of the guys you look at and think, 'I don't like him too much on the field' but as soon as you get them off the field and mix with them, they're quality people.
We're all very similar. We all do the same things outside of footy and the chit-chat is probably what you'd expect.
We talk about the seasons we've had, and the three Hawthorn boys – Campbell Brown, Michael Osborne and Brad Sewell – have been busy with that.
I think they would have been asked about the premiership so many times and are probably sick of explaining it, but it's the best feeling to win a flag.
I'm not planning on this being my last series. We'll be going to Ireland next year, and I was fortunate to be on that fantastic trip in 2000.
I did mention that to Mick, that if he's still coaching I'd love to be part of it.
But we'll see how we go. This could be the last time that I represent the country, so I'm making sure I enjoy every bit of it.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
