Wallabies flyhalf Carter Gordon is ready to back up his exceptional 2023 season as he looks to turn around the Melbourne Rebels's season.
Gordon was vaulted into the national set-up after an excellent season with the Rebels in Super Rugby Pacific.
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This saw him make his Test debut before being selected as the lone flyhalf for the World Cup.
“It was a good year for me getting the Wallabies debut and making it to the World Cup," he told Rugby.com.au
“I was quite happy with how I played and the way I put myself into position to play each week so I’m taking the learnings into this year and ready to get better.
“The atmosphere around those (Wallabies) games is a lot bigger and that’s something I was shocked by when I first started getting some games and seeing how those teams operate at the international levels.
“When you get the chance to talk to some of the guys after the games about their preparation and how they go about things, you take a lot away from that and from guys who have played 50+ caps for their country.”
Within the space of six months, Gordon experienced the rollercoaster that is Test Rugby.
He scored on debut against South Africa before starting in front of friends and family against the All Blacks at the MCG, metres away from where he made his mark at AAMI Park.
However, he suddenly found himself on the bench after a tough game against Fiji at the World Cup before dropping out of the squad altogether for Portugal.
It's left the 23-year-old hungry to return to the Rebels and he goes from the 'hunter' to the 'hunted.'
“I think playing and training is the biggest one for me," he reflects.
“Getting back on the field and building those blocks, making sure I’m instilling that confidence on the training park that I can take into games. As you have a good game, that confidence gets more and more and you keep flowing on.
“Last year, we had a big system around my running game and that might been more shut down this year so it’s about how we can target those other parts of the field to take the space that’s given to us
“Around the other tens (fighting for position), I think you just have to look at it as an individual and focus on how I’m going to play, making sure that I’m doing my role well because that’s all I can control.
“I’m making sure that I’m going to put the team in the right parts of the field, do my job well and as far as I’m concerned, that’d be a good game for me.”
It starts on Friday against the Western Force, with both sides coming off disappointing defeats.
Gordon and the Rebels were outclassed by Noah Lolesio and the Brumbies as they took out a 30-3 win at AAMI Park.
With all eyes on Melbourne as part of 'Super Round', Gordon recognised the importance of a strong win to kick-start their season
"We were pretty disappointed with how we played last week," he admits
“We know our set piece is hungry to be good this week and we want to put all those systems in play to play well. We’ve tidied up those little things we need to and we’re confident going into the game.
"Winning goes a long way and I think this weekend's a good time for us to be able to put our foot down and show the wider Melbourne community that we're here to play this year. We need to win games for them to get on board and support us.
"That's front of mind and that's what we want to be doing this weekend."
