Cameron Green has admitted Bangladesh's nine-wicket win in Darwin caught Australia off guard only in its scale, insisting the tourists' quality was never underestimated even as they refused to let the hosts back into the contest once it slipped away.

Speaking to reporters at training in Mackay, Green reflected on how thoroughly Bangladesh had controlled the match from the very first day.

"I think nothing surprises you. We knew they were a good team. I think they just played a great game and never really let us back into the game after day one."

He said the scale of the challenge became apparent almost immediately.

"We knew after day one that we had a mighty, big fight in front of us and they just kept putting the foot on the throat. Didn't really give us a chance to get back into the game. We tried a lot of things and it didn't quite work out unfortunately."

Green pointed to Bangladesh's earlier ODI series win on Australian soil as further evidence the tourists were not there to make up the numbers, even if the Test result still stung.

He believes Australia were closer to competing than the scoreline suggested, particularly after his second innings century extended the match into a fourth-innings chase.

"It's always tough, you play the game for team success," he said. "So yeah, there's conflicting feelings where you've had a good result, but you wish you had have put ourselves in a position to win the game. We got awfully close, I thought. If we put on another 50 to 75 runs, I think we could have been really in the game. But it wasn't to be."

That century, an unbeaten 104 from 201 balls built on just four fours and a six, was his first Test hundred on home soil in 33 innings since debuting in December 2020, ending a long wait that had become a recurring theme in his career, with several of his finest innings previously arriving when few were watching.

Green traced the turnaround back to a Sheffield Shield innings in March, an unbeaten century for Western Australia against New South Wales in Sydney squeezed in between the T20 World Cup and the IPL.

He revisited notes he had written after that innings before the Darwin Test, allowing him to recapture a tempo he felt he had drifted from.

"I think I kind of just went back to how I used to play. Just keeping it really simple. I think over the last few years, I've just tinkered a bit, tried to find something, tried to force it a little bit," he said. "It was nice to go back to Shield cricket for a game and just went back to what I used to do and it felt really good."

He described the technical shift in detail, moving away from a more aggressive early approach back to a simpler method built around occupying the crease.

"I'd normally like to be reasonably front on, bat on middle stump and have a really clear, simple game plan. I think over the previous few tours, or years, I tried to get to off stump and tried to play a slightly more aggressive game early, rather than kind of letting it happen."

Green drew a clear distinction between his own game and that of Travis Head, rejecting any suggestion he needed to bat with similar urgency at number five.

"Travis Head is an unbelievable cricketer and he seems to be a guy that can hit shots from ball one. That's never really been me. It's just going back to what feels right for me and what I've done my whole life, and it felt nice the other day."

He also backed the position itself, noting the value of batting time even with an ageing ball, while praising Head's willingness to open the innings instead.

"Five's a great position to bat in. You've got a great opportunity to bat a lot of time, but you hope you're not facing the brand new ball. I think Travis Head has obviously had a lot of success there and that's kind of his position, but he's selflessly opening the batting at the moment and we all appreciate that as a team."

Australia go into the second Test at Mackay's Great Barrier Reef Arena, a ground where Green struck the second-fastest ODI century by an Australian man last year, expecting similarly good batting conditions.

"Obviously played here last year and we thought it was a beautiful wicket. It's tough to compare white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket, but we're expecting a really good wicket. Hopefully a bit of bounce and really flat for us batters."

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey, playing his 50th Test, echoed Green's belief that Australia's squad was well equipped to respond after previous setbacks in India and at the World Test Championship final.

"We're a proud group of cricketers, and obviously last week didn't go to plan. So we've reflected, we've talked about it. If I can say anything, when this team's been challenged, we always find a way to bounce back in a big way."

Australia will field a reshaped slip cordon in Mackay, with recalled opener Matthew Renshaw returning to first slip a decade after making his debut there, pushing Beau Webster to third slip and moving Marnus Labuschagne out of the cordon entirely.

Dropped opener Jake Weatherald, meanwhile, has signed to play for Warwickshire in next year's County Championship in a bid to press his case for a home Ashes recall.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Warwickshire for the 2027 season. Edgbaston is one of the great grounds in world cricket and the opportunity to represent such a prestigious county was something I couldn't pass up."

Carey said he had already reached out to Weatherald after his axing.

"It's obviously always difficult when someone is dropped from a team. It is sport, unfortunately, that is the case. I flicked him a message yesterday, and obviously give him all my support, and look forward to him bouncing back in a big way in South Australian colours."