Stopping the influence of Wallaby halfback Will Genia will go a long way to ensuring the All Blacks get off to winning start in the Rugby Championship.
Steve Hansen's side take on Australia in Sydney on Saturday night in the opening clash of the tournament, which is the first of three Bledisloe Cup tests for 2018.
The Wallabies have been talked up by Hansen, a notion laughed off by most Australian rugby pundits, including coach Michael Cheika.
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But there is a growing air of confidence within the Australian environment, with the test in Sydney being identified as a must-win.
Veteran Australian halfback Will Genia described winning back the Bledisloe Cup as his "number one priority", labelling the trans-Tasman trophy more important than the World Cup.
Genia is tipped to start against the All Blacks on Saturday, with Hurricanes number nine TJ Peranara identifying the 30-year-old as key to Wallabies success.
"Will has been one of the better attacking number nines in world rugby for a while now," Peranara said on Tuesday.
"He has an ability to spot a hole and punish teams when given an opportunity - that part of his game is second-to-none. We need to make sure we know the reads that he is looking for and ensure he doesn't get those reads.
"The more he gets going, the better the Wallabies look. If Will is going forward and making splits, their forwards are going forward and their backs are on the front foot.
"It can make their game a lot harder to control. We will make sure that we don't give him those opportunities he needs to hurt us."
Perenara is one of three halfbacks in the 32-strong squad for Sydney, alongside Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and incumbent starter Aaron Smith.
Despite the competitive nature among the trio, the 26-year-old said preparing as a unit, sharing ideas and developing a gameplan will ultimately benefit the side, come kick-off.
"We have a lot of content that we need to cover," Peranara said. "We have to make sure that, visually and collectively, we are all on the same page.
"The man thing is a collective awareness that we are all striving for the same things going into the game. At this point, it's all about game awareness and getting the gameplan right."
The last two visits to Sydney have produced blowout All Black wins.
New Zealand ran rampant in 2016, crushing the Wallabies 42-8, after leading 32-3 at halftime.
Last year saw a similar fast start for the All Blacks, who lead 40-6 at the break and eventually won 54-34.
Australian coach Michael Cheika has laid down the gauntlet to his squad to meet the All Blacks head on from the opening whistle to avoid a similar fate.
Perenara said how the Wallabies start was not in the All Blacks' hands, noting their only focus was on themselves.
"We can't control what they do, we only control what we do," Perenara said.
"We can't control the space that they are in, so how they start the game is more on them than us.
"For us, we need to make sure we start well."
Despite holding the Bledisloe Cup since 2003, Perenara said there was no sense of complacency among the squad, stating that, if anything, the hunger to win was stronger than ever.
Peranara said the mindset was that the Cup didn't belong to anyone.
"We don't own the trophy, the Wallabies don't own the trophy," Perenara said.
"Every year we embark on this journey, the trophy is up for grabs.
"For us, we are about putting ourselves in the best position to win the Bledisloe Cup and that starts with performing well in the first game."
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