Kiwis playmaker Shaun Johnson has heard his critics and vows to right the wrongs of last week against Great Britain - if he gets that opportunity.
The NZ rugby league side were comprehensively outplayed by Australia 26-4 at Wollongong on Friday, with Johnson's wayward performance singled out for criticism.
Australian commentator Braith Anasta opined: "Shaun Johnson probably had close to the worst test I've ever seen him play."
Others have called for veteran half Kieran Foran to replace Johnson - the Kiwis' all-time leading scorer - for Saturday's test against the Lions at Auckland's Eden Park.
Coach Michael Maguire will name his line-up on Tuesday night, and Johnson concedes he will have to improve if he is to steer his side home against the tourists and silence his critics.
"It's not the first time I've copped it, so I'm battle-hardened in that sense," he told NRL.com. "I've got a pretty good ability to push it too the side now, and focus on trying to get better and being around teammates.
"When you're away on tour, the group of players are your family and they have your back... just staying tight with them, letting the externals things take care of themselves and get ready for these last two games."
In particular, Johnson highlighted his kicking options on the last tackle as an area that needed work.
"I thought the kicking game was very poor and not being able to finish sets really released the pressure we were trying to build in the first half," he said.
"At halftime, we were a shot - they had the majority of the ball, but we held on and scored a late try - but we came out in the second half and undid that early on."
But while he relishes the chance to correct those shortcomings, Johnson clearly isn't assuming he will get that chance.
"Whoever gets the chance to represent this jersey, you know you've got to take it with both hands," he said.
"We've got two games to go and whoever gets that opportunity, they definitely have to take it and try to redeem what we did in the weekend."
The Lions tuned up for their two tests against New Zealand with a shock 14-6 loss to Tonga Invitational XIII in Hamilton.
The Kiwis v Great Britain test will be the second fixture in a tripleheader that also sees Samoa face Fiji and Australia take on the Tongans.
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