The Wallabies are unfazed by the prospect of a packed-out MCG crowd, rather focused on producing a strong performance in their final Test on home soil for 2023.
This year's World Cup has caused a condensed Rugby Championship, with Eddie Jones' men playing just twice on home soil, beginning with a last-minute loss to Argentina.
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The defeat still stings for the group, who face the prospect of three titanic clashes, two against the Kiwis and one against host France, before they begin their World Cup campaign.
With close to 80,000 expected to pack into the MCG for one of the largest Wallabies crowds in recent memory, scrumhalf Tate McDermott was more concerned about making up for their lacklustre night in Sydney.
“Those numbers, you’re getting close to that in Perth and at Marvel so I don’t think those numbers come into play but definitely being our last test match in Australia given how we performed against Argentina…that’s the lift," he told reporters.
“It’s pretty easy to sit here and say we’re going to play for them. We’ve got to make sure we rock up Saturday night and actually turn it on.”
“Yeah obviously we’re not happy with the results. But you know, Eddie being Eddie, I think the intensity was always gonna lift leading into the next test matches, especially the Bledisloe,” centre Samu Kerevi added.
“I think it's not just because of the Bledisloe, but just as a team we needed to lift the intensity at training and create some great habits leading into these next two games, but especially this game in front of our home fans who will be the last opportunity we get.”
The Wallabies have spoken about the importance of putting the Kiwis under pressure for the full 80 minutes.
They got a great lesson last year when the All Blacks raced out to an 18-point lead, who eventually scored after the siren to steal the victory.
“It's finding a way to get them under pressure and keep them under pressure,” lineout coach Palmer explained.
“You could do that through set piece, attack, defence, kicking. So it's just important that we come up with a strategy that suits the players we've got and suits obviously the All Blacks for this weekend.
“We’ve got a plan in place and now we've just got to do the work to make sure we can execute it.”
The Wallabies refused to rule out co-captain Michael Hooper and could give him as late as Saturday morning to prove his fitness as he deals with a calf complaint.
“He’s progressing well. He did some light running today with the medical staff,” Palmer added.
“We're working with him so we'll give him as long as we need to.”
