Australia has fallen to a 3-1 defeat in a fractious, high-octane contest against Brazil at Lang Park in which Matildas coach Tom Sermanni said the referee "allowed herself to be bullied".

The Matildas will dust themselves down and attempt to quickly move on after a physical, relentless Brazil beat Australia 3-1 to crash retiring great Clare Polkinghorne's send-off match in Brisbane.

Australian captain Steph Catley and her teammates are adamant they can't afford to be pushed around again by Brazil, who won the physical battle in a spiteful "friendly" in Brisbane.  Brazil won Thursday night's clash 3-1 in a fiery affair at Suncorp Stadium.