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BRISBANE - Fear of losing as much as the desire to win will drive the Kangaroos in the rugby league World Cup final against New Zealand in Brisbane on Saturday.
Australia are hot favourites to retain the trophy they have held for 33 years, scoring 32 tries and conceding just three in four convincing victories on their road to the title decider.
But coach Ricky Stuart had a blunt assessment of the task facing his players at Suncorp Stadium.
"The last four games mean nothing," he said.
"We will be the most known football team in the world if we get beaten this week."
Skipper Darren Lockyer had a similar view.
"I'm always confident when I'm in green and gold, but also aware of the fear of losing," he said.
"The Kiwis have got some momentum in the last couple of weeks and we have a standard we have to uphold."
Lockyer featured in a spectacular moment during Australia's semifinal win over Fiji on Sunday night, when he was felled by a big hit from fullback Jarryd Hayne.
He survived the tackle and had a big smile on his face when the incident was replayed during the Rugby League International Federation's player-of-the-year dinner last night.
However, winger Brent Tate was yesterday rated just a 50-50 chance of making the final after the New Zealand Warrior suffered a hip flexor injury in the same match.
Although Australia have played two of the minor nations in their past two matches - their final pool fixture was against Papua New Guinea - Lockyer said both had provided a physical challenge.
"We won the game 52-0," he said of the semifinal.
"But when I woke up this morning, it didn't feel that way."
He was expecting "the same treatment again" from New Zealand, but with "a lot more thrown at us this week in terms of skill and structure".
Lockyer played down the opinion of some sections of the Australian media, who give New Zealand little chance of beating the Kangaroos, like they last managed in the 2005 Tri-Nations final, or even running them close, as in the golden-point Tri-Nations decider the following year.
He believed the Kiwis had improved since their 30-6 defeat to Australia in the opening weekend of the World Cup and the change coach Stephen Kearney had made in swapping of Thomas Leuluai and Nathan Fien to hooker and halfback respectively was paying dividends.
"They've come a long way and they've experimented with a few players in positions and seem to have got it right," he said.
"We're always going to the favourites, but favourites don't always win."
Lockyer expected New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Bennett - whom he played under with Australia, Queensland and Brisbane - would bring experience and a calming influence to the Kiwi build-up.
"Wayne's had big game experience," he said.
"He's been to six grand finals, he's won Origins and he won test matches. He'll be able to calm the nerves and give them an insight into what to expect."
- NZPA
