KEY POINTS:
The All Black centre problems have returned with Isaia Toeava struggling to shake off a shoulder injury he suffered against the Springboks.
That doubt suggests Mils Muliaina will start at centre against the Wallabies in the first Bledisloe Cup test on Saturday at the McG with Leon MacDonald at fullback.
"It would be because of their experience and performance," assistant coach Wayne Smith said.
"I think that Mils has played really well for us and we don't have any doubts about him there; Leon is in pretty good form too and hit his straps in the last couple of games so if that is the decision we make, then we would be comfortable with that."
Smith rated the 21-year-old Toeava as only a 50-50 bet to be chosen when both sides announce their starting combinations today.
"He has played a lot of footy as well so we have to take that into account," Smith added.
Toeava suffered a similar shoulder problem at the start of the Super 14 and missed one game before playing the rest of the series for the Blues.
"He has got a bruised shoulder and that puts a bit of doubt on his selection and there are a few players who are pretty knackered," Smith said. "There are some recovery issues so we have to make sure we do that well and see where we are."
Luke McAlister was an option as centre after a run against Canada while Rico Gear could also deputise.
Meanwhile senior lock Chris Jack has joined the squad after the birth of his daughter while Keith Robinson is also with the party but only for medical assessment on his recovery from a calf muscle tear.
With Jack's arrival, the selectors decided to jettison Greg Rawlinson and retain Ross Filipo to comply with the Sanzar rules governing the size of Tri-Nations squads.
"He has played with real edge, he had a crack," Smith said of Filipo who made his debut against Canada and made an impact from the bench against South Africa.
Selections for this test were as much about gauging individual All Blacks readiness for Saturday as they were in picking players to combat the Wallabies.
"For the last three years we have tried to pick teams that have an edge, so they are physically right, they have to be mentally on edge, so we try and take all those things into account which is what our debrief is all about," Smith said.
A Tri-Nations draw which had the All Blacks playing successive tests against important nations in Durban then Melbourne after another test against Canada offered challenges for the team and staff.
"But we accepted it as something this team needs," said Smith. "We sort of welcomed it. We felt the team needed that sort of challenge."
