The controversy-plagued Wallabies believe their besieged stars have been "picked on" and hope to vent their frustration on the All Blacks in Brisbane on Saturday night.

Australia have endured a disruptive countdown to their bid to break a 10-year Tri Nations title drought - but powerhouse prop Sekope Kepu believed it had only made the team tighter.

"When one of our mates are picked on from the public, you always give them the support that they need - you bring them in and you get closer," he said on Wednesday.

"That's the feeling in the camp this week - everyone is helping each other out."

Kepu said one look at Wallabies training proved the fallout over AWOL winger James O'Connor and a 2010 "incident" featuring three of their biggest stars had not hampered their side.

Just ask Will Genia - the halfback was left nursing six stitches in his head after a heavy hit from team-mate Radike Samo on Tuesday.

"The problems that have happened have been dealt with - everyone is pretty calm and focused on a potential Tri Nations win," Kepu said.

"The game will be more about the attitude that we take in.

"In terms of training, the physicality is massive - as you could see by yesterday - and it is something that we have to bring to this game.

"The boys are really serious."

And they will have to be according to Kepu after New Zealand's 18-5 loss to South Africa at Port Elizabeth last weekend.

While content with the front row's performance in the Wallabies' 30-14 loss to New Zealand on August 6, Kepu said they must step it up a notch against what is expected to be a near full-strength All Blacks.

"As a front row, we did well to win clean ball for ourselves and hold our ground but they will be coming out after last week - the Springboks woke them up a bit," he said.

"We look forward to them coming out firing in that area."

However, Kepu believed they had the forward firepower to combat them after the injection of comeback kings Samo and Dan Vickerman.

Samo gets his chance at No.8 while Vickerman will start in the second-row alongside new captain James Horwill.

"We've added some size, some aggressive players - that will add more dimension," Kepu said.

"And Samo is an X-factor."

Meanwhile, Wallabies inside centre Pat McCabe believed a win over the All Blacks would boost confidence after a less than ideal build-up but doubted whether it would earn a psychological edge at the World Cup.

"This game is huge. Australia hasn't been in contention to win the Tri Nations for a long time," McCabe said on Wednesday.

"And the confidence you take out of a game like this, if you are the victor, that is a great boost coming into the World Cup.

"But I'm not sure it will (mean much) next time we face them.

"But to just have beaten the best in the world ahead of the World Cup would show we are heading in the right direction."

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