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BRISBANE - Kiwis league coach Brian McClennan predicts star forward Sonny Bill Williams is mentally ready for a big Anzac test but hosed down the hype surrounding his gamebreaker's return.
The Kiwis' buildup in Brisbane has been dominated by talk of returning stars Williams and Benji Marshall, both absentees from last year's Tri-Nations due to injury.
Former top coaches Phil Gould and Warren Ryan this week slammed Marshall's current form while Ryan added it was time for Williams to step up.
"Both (Williams and Marshall) have missed a lot of football through injury but the time for concessions on that score is over," Ryan wrote in the Brisbane Courier-Mail.
"... Sonny Bill needs to build his attacking game on footwork and hard running so the offload becomes the by-product of his dominant run."
Williams, 21, has only five tests to his name, the last of them in Brisbane a year ago when he and Marshall played under injury clouds and the Kiwis suffered a 12-50 hammering from the Kangaroos.
McClennan labelled Ryan's comments "constructive" and warned Kiwis fans the test wouldn't be won or lost solely because of Williams and Marshall.
"It should be remembered that Benji and Sonny haven't had a lot of football in the last year. They're only young men and we've got to let them build into the game," McClennan said.
"They've got to get out there and enjoy playing among their Kiwi countrymen. I'm sure they're going to be fine."
Enjoyment seemed high on Williams' agenda when he joined the Kiwis camp on Monday to a flood of media interviews. He and Marshall have been off limits since.
Williams emerged from a weekend media storm in Sydney which ended on the front page of a Sunday newspaper with he and his live-in girlfriend vowing their relationship would survive him being sprung with high-profile athlete Candice Falzon in a pub toilet.
He wasn't keen to answer questions on how the fallout had affected him but his mood brightened when talking up a test recall.
"I'm not going to be cocky and say we're going to smash them but we always seem to put together a good forward pack.
"I'm confident if all the boys put it together we'll come away with a win," Williams said.
"Last year's Tri-Nations was a good sign. Before, we'd go into test matches always as underdogs. I'm pretty sure if we put a good performance in on Friday we'll get some respect.
"This is the boys' State of Origin. We try and show the rest of the world that the Kiwis can be the No 1 side in the world. We don't go out there just to play, but to win."
A fully-fit Williams said the excitement and the buzz was unmistakable in the Kiwis' camp.
Despite his Bulldogs' loss to Manly last weekend he gave a welcome reminder of his class with a brilliant solo try when he steamed onto a short pass and raced over near the posts.
Meanwhile McClennan's note of caution about Williams was echoed by senior prop Nathan Cayless.
"He's still finding his feet at international level. He's only played a couple of games.
"While he's immensely talented there's another 16 guys out there and if we do our jobs well it takes the pressure off him," Cayless said.
"I don't think we should expect too much off him, just go out there and play his natural game."
The Kiwis today had their first full training session under sunny skies and near 30degC temperatures behind closed gates in suburban Brisbane.
Wing Manu Vatuvei had a fitness test on his heavily strapped knee but a team spokesman said there was no concern about his availability.
- NZPA
