KEY POINTS:
The Kangaroos have made no secret of their plan to attack hard at the Kiwis halves Ben Roberts and Thomas Leuluai in tonight's test.
But for a change, Darren Lockyer will not be running their game.
Rather it will be the Sharks' stocky tough guy Greg Bird, shifted
from lock. This is the sixth of halfback Johnathan Thurston's tests but his first with Bird outside him.
Bird said he wants ball from Thurston that will allow him to direct the Kangaroos big runners Willie Mason, Anthony Tupou and Ryan Hoffman straight at Roberts and Leuluai. But there is thought in the Kiwis camp that the delivery out of the halves won't be as damaging as it was with the Thurston/Lockyer combination.
Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart has clearly picked Bird and his Sharks teammate Paul Gallen - who was voted "most annoying" player by his peers in this year's Rugby League Week poll for his sledging and niggle - because he expects a physical contest tonight. And Stuart clearly has the intention of playing the Kiwis at their own game.
But don't expect any biff. The game is too fast for that now, there are too many cameras focused on the action. A team playing one man short is on a path to a sure loss.
Gallen told the media this week that he wasn't selected to pick a fight. Mason concurs: "I think it's going to be pretty fiery but no one is going to go out and do something stupid."
Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney and assistant Wayne Bennett have made it very clear they want the nonsense left out. He noted the Bird/Gallen selections and Stuart's contention in build-up that he expects a "war".
"I'm not too sure what the motive is there," Kearney said. "Tests are physical but we've learnt from our own experience that [fighting] is probably not going to work.
"I don't want my players getting tied up in a slugfest, it's not going to suit us and we've made that very clear to the players. We want to see Roy Asotasi using his feet, Sonny Bill [Williams]'s off-loads, players getting into space."
But there will certainly be plenty of physicality. We can expect the Kiwis to start the match with the intention of putting some bruising gang-tackles on early to keep Thurston, Bird and the bigger Mason and co on edge. If the Kiwis can put big hits in early then the Aussie ball-carriers will be looking out for them throughout the game. The New Zealanders respect the much-vaunted Aussie backline but one comment this week was "no one likes players in their face all through the game, no matter how good they are".
The game will be played with 12 interchanges rather than the NRL's 10. "If anything, that suits our style," Kearney said.
They were not looking to target individuals in the opposition - not Justin Hodges, who has been carrying a shoulder injury nor his centre partner, Mark Gasnier, just back from injury, and not Thurston. "We're looking to focus on our strengths rather than any individuals from their side, we need to encourage our strengths," said Kearney.
One of those was obviously the back row where everyone expects a big game from Williams. Kearney agreed - but the coach has wider expectations for his team and dismissed suggestions that 20-year-old Issac Luke might struggle. "Issac is a very confident young man."
Ben Roberts and Brent Webb would also test the Kangaroo defence. Jason Nightingale is among the NRLs top try-scorers.
There are five Storm players in the Kangaroos but the Kiwis coach, familiar with them through his day job in Melbourne, felt no analytical advantage through that connection. "It's one thing knowing what they can do, it's another stopping them."
The kicking game will be crucial tonight. The Kiwis can't afford to be playing out of their own half all the time. Kearney is wary the wide-open spaces of the Aussie Rules oval will appear to enlarge the pitch. Much work has been done with the kickers to keep them aware of that.
* KEARNEY AND BENNETT: THE BUDDY MOVIE
One's a grizzled old cop who's worked the beat for years; the other is a keen young rookie, eager to take on the world. The unlikely partnership between Wayne Bennett (ex-Brisbane CID) and Stephen Kearney (ex-Kapiti Bears) brings to mind some successful, and not-so successful, Hollywood parallels.
SE7EN
Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman
Freeman played a wise old detective, with a tendency to read lengthy books while on the job, Pitt was the good-looking young bloke with an tough case to solve.
Parallels for tonight?
Let's hope not. The grisly ending of the movie was reminiscent of last year's 58-0 thrashing.
THE COLOUR OF MONEY
Paul Newman and Tom Cruise
Fast Eddie (Newman) takes Vincent (the budding scientologist), a talented-but-unpredictable pool-room star, under his wing to teach him how to hustle.
Parallels for tonight?
Fast Eddie was a master of baiting and taunting opponents and when Bennett delayed the Kiwis' arrival for a photoshoot at the Sydney Opera House midweek, the mindgame riled Ricky Stuart. Eight ball, side pocket.
TRAINING DAY
Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke
The young buck detective arrives for his first day on the job and gets shown the ropes by a corrupt senior who deals drugs on the side.
Parallels for tonight?
Bennett would kill a man with a withering stare at the suggestion of backhanders and drugs. No chance.