Halfback Nick Phipps believes Michael Cheika will have a few tricks up his sleeve when he trims down his Wallabies squad on Friday before the Rugby Championship.
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At present there are 11 uncapped players in a 42-man Wallabies squad, meaning there will be a number of new faces when that number is reduced to either 33 or 34 players on Friday, two weeks out from the Bledisloe Cup opener on August 19.
In the past, a squad of 33 players has been made up of two players in each starting XV position, plus an extra prop, hooker and halfback.
Backs Marika Koroibete, Campbell Magnay, Billy Meakes, Izaia Perese and Curtis Rona are all uncapped, while in the forwards, rookies Jermaine Ainsley, Sef Fa'agase, Adam Korczyk, Izack Rodda and Taniela Tupou are outsiders to make the cut.
"I have no doubt Cheik's going to pull a few swifties like he usually does," Phipps said. "There's so many of those newer blokes that that could easily get into the squad.
"There's a lot of spots up for grabs around that tight-five position. In the outside backs, there's also spots up for grabs and even who the two or three centres are going to be in that squad.
"The last three weeks we've just been doing fitness, we haven't done any team stuff so I can't even give you a hint."
One person who will be there is Phipps, given he is one of three halfbacks alongside Will Genia, who started in all three of the June Tests, and Brumbies youngster Joe Powell.
Phipps did not play in June because of an ankle injury but has powered his way back into contention to tackle the All Blacks.
His fitness levels have come up to speed quickly and he was one of the best performing Wallaby players at a camp in Newcastle last week when the group were constantly pushed to their physical limits.
Phipps came off the bench last year against New Zealand in the first Bledisloe match, a game in which Australia were thrashed 42-8.
On reflection, Phipps believes the Wallabies were not up to scratch going into the match but has assured they will be in better condition this time around despite some underwhelming performances in Super Rugby.
"It's never good to be completely dominated on your home turf and when we went into that game we were quite underdone and we weren't where we needed to be," Phipps said. "When you're like that and you go against the world's best team, with especially the dynasty they've got at the moment, then you're going to get punished for it. We probably rightfully got what we deserved.
"As far as we're concerned, game one is a completely new chapter, new year. We want to make sure we are 100 per cent ready for that first game."
Asked where he thought he stood in the pecking order alongside Genia and Powell, Phipps responded diplomatically but is keen to remind Cheika why he featured in 13 of 15 Tests last year.
"I don't know ??? the most I can do is impress Cheik leading into the Bledisloe and see where the cards lie," Phipps said. "I'm never going to let him down in that area. I'm back physically to where I wanted to be and working hard on my core skills. I know around the group I'm going to bring the energy and the voice we need."
Five-eighth Bernard Foley has thrown his support behind Phipps since his return, saying: "Nick was really disappointed to miss that June series and the last couple of games for the Waratahs. His work rate and work ethic over the last two weeks has been impressive."
