Four Test debutants and a trio who have not played an NRL game in almost five weeks were named in the Australian team for Saturday's opener against New Zealand at Auckland.

Bulldogs duo Andrew Ryan and Willie Tonga, Penrith winger Luke Rooney and Brisbane lock Tonie Carroll, a former NZ representative, will make their Test debut for Australia.

Dragons centre Matt Cooper, another yet to taste Test rugby league, was placed on standby for Tonga who was rated by Bennett as a "70 to 80 per cent" chance of overcoming an ankle injury.

But Bennett was more concerned about the match fitness of his side which also featured Newcastle's Ben Kennedy and Danny Buderus and Parramatta's Nathan Hindmarsh, who missed out on the recent month-long NRL finals.

Adding to Bennett's concerns is the fact Australia has just one tour match to complement its international campaign which will feature five Tri Nations games, including the expected final, plus Tests against France and the United States.

There is just one tour match at Cumbria against an ANZAC side featuring players who did not feature in the early Tri Nations games.

"Everyone's getting further away from a game, the ones who aren't playing, so it will be a bit of an issue but we do have a (tour) game in Cumbria...," Bennett said.

Bennett said the tough schedule for the Tri Nations - which also features Great Britain - would provide "a lot of little challenges".

"You don't realise the fact that we are playing three Test matches in a row ... before we get a break," Bennett said.

"We've got virtually no lead-up games as well. So it's not a case of running some guys who ... might be out of form or don't have that opportunity.

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