They've professed their "belief" before, but the Wallabies say they will enter Saturday's Bledisloe Cup cauldron with 100 per cent pure belief when they face the huge task of upsetting the All Blacks at Eden Park.

The talk all week in Auckland has been about how settled the Australians are compared with an out-of-sorts All Blacks without the injured Dan Carter, and it has the Wallabies quietly confident they could be about to end their 23-year Auckland hoodoo and put a couple of fingers on the Bledisloe Cup.

They managed a series-opening win in Sydney last year only to be thrashed 39-10 the next week at Eden Park and, now needing to win three of the four Bledisloe Tests to win the series for the first time in six years, a first-up victory is crucial.

"There's probably a little bit more belief there that the cohesion's there," coach Robbie Deans told reporters on Friday.

"The reality is the Test's coming and those things are assessed retrospectively."

Despite Carter's absence and some indifferent All Blacks form in lead-up Tests against France and Italy, the New Zealanders remain favourites for Saturday's Test, which doubles as the Tri-Nations series opener.

The match will be the first since Lote Tuqiri's contract termination, which had the potential to be divisive as the Wallabies coach and captain appeared to take different positions.

Richie McCaw returns to captain the All Blacks and resume his ongoing breakdown battle with George Smith, who will become the fourth Australian to play 100 Tests, as well as bench flankers Phil Waugh and David Pocock.

As well as the Auckland hoodoo, the Wallabies will need to overcome a mini-curse which has meant they haven't tasted victory anywhere in New Zealand since 2001.

"It shouldn't be (difficult to win at Eden Park) but the reality is some sort of hoodoos and these sorts of patterns sometimes eventuate in sport," Wallabies skipper Stirling Mortlock said.

"But the reality is they get broken and our mindset is this is a great opportunity for the group and we know it will be a significant challenge but we're very excited and ready for it.

"I just think that the nucleus of the squad have grown a lot.

"Our understanding and clarity about what we're trying to achieve has improved and that shows in our training, in our mentality and I guess also probably in the confidence the guys have in each other as well."

Australia's bench will include just two backs. Will Genia is on debut and teenager James O'Connor is yet to start a Test outside Australia.

Deans said that had required no special preparation on his part.

"They do it themselves," he said.

"This generation tend to arrive pretty fast, probably the key is settling them more so, putting the reins on them a little bit in terms of their over-exuberance."

Another thing pleasing Deans is the spotlight being removed from him after his first series against his home nation became the focus last year.

"It was ludicrous this time last year, everyone was talking about it," he said.

"I suppose it was of interest but the reality is that it's the Wallabies versus the All Blacks and I think we've settled into a more normal frequency which is great."

Teams:

Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Lachie Turner, Stirling Mortlock (capt), Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Luke Burgess, Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Richard Brown, Nathan Sharpe, James Horwill, Al Baxter, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Res: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Ben Alexander, Dean Mumm, Phil Waugh, David Pocock, Will Genia, James O'Connor.

New Zealand: Mils Muliaina, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Ma'a Nonu, Stephen Donald, Jimmy Cowan, Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw (capt), Jerome Kaino, Isaac Ross, Brad Thorn, Neemia Tialata, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Res: Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks, Jason Eaton, Kieran Read, Piri Weepu, Luke McAlister, Joe Rokocoko.

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