The 650-day absence between Tests was a number that stunned Dave Porecki when told at the Friday press conference, but it was clear that the Waratah hooker is hungry to make up for lost time.
Porecki's last match in gold was against Portugal - with the 2023 captain also leading the side when Fiji achieved a famous victory, beating the Wallabies for the first time since 1954.
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While some have called the upcoming match a 'warm up' for the Wallabies before the British and Irish Lions, Porecki was quick to shut down chat about the Lions - knowing full well the challenge ahead that will welcome the Wallabies on Sunday.
"My headspace is that Fiji don't care that there's a Lions series going on," Porecki said candidly to reporters on Friday.
"The most important thing for us is to perform. We've got a test match ahead on Sunday. That's the most important thing for me."
Porecki has had a long road back to the jersey after overcoming injuries throughout 2024 and 2025 - with his late season form catching the eye of Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
But even the time away came as a bit of a shock to the 19-capped Wallaby.
"600? My god. Wow, makes you feel old," Porecki laughed.
"The number makes it feel a bit longer. Last year was a difficult year for me, 2024.
"There was points in that where the rehab wasn't sort of... it wasn't linear, to put it simply.
"I've worked hard to get my body to a position where I can tolerate certain loads. The medical teams in both the Tahs and the Wallabies have been great, we've progressively gotten better and better to the point now where there's a expectation of your training in Wallabies camp.
"You've got to be able to perform in this environment, in the training environment. I feel like I've been able to do that consistently, especially over the last week and a half, and the body is feeling good and ready to go."
The environment Porecki steps back into is one that has undergone significant change under Schmidt, with the hooker quickly buying into the approach of the coach and leadership team.
"There's a different approach given it's a different squad, different coaching staff, different everything. That was the result two years ago.
"I speak personally coming into this environment, it's not something that's spoken about. They're very forward-focused. A lot is on us. We control what we want to control, and if we can nail our fundamentals as a team, we're going to put ourselves in a good position to have a result on Sunday.
"Coming in, you could feel how connected the group was. And watching last year, you could definitely see it. I didn't even need to be in the group to see that.
"The fundamentals of the game is something that Joe drives exceptionally hard. And he's probably one of the top coaches out there at doing that.
"It makes the game easier on each other when you're playing, because if you nail your role, it opens up opportunities for others."
Having been a former Wallaby captain himself, Porecki has been particularly impressed by the leadership group, with Harry Wilson as captain.
The leadership approach has also translated to the wider squad, with Porecki noting the approach and self-improvement tactics employed by all members of the squad.
"He definitely leads by actions," Porecki said of his captain.
"I think you can see that in all of his performances, especially last year in the gold jersey. I think obviously as well, there's a strong leadership group within the Wallabies that supports Harry.
"Not every leadership style is the same. They obviously bounce off each other really well in that leadership group. Everyone's supportive around him.
"What he has continuously done is lead from the front. I have no doubt he'll do the same on Sunday.
"I was involved with Zane [Nonggorr] two years ago, and just to see the way he's developed over the last two years, Belly [Angus Bell] the same. So you've obviously got Crono [Mike Cron] in here that works tirelessly on making sure that they're prepared.
"Most importantly, they can fault correct on their own. They don't need the teaching out there, they can start to develop the understanding to actually fault correct themselves when they feel it in training - then you get that consistency and you start nailing it in a game.
"I think, if someone like Zane, you look at his year, he's had a cracking year and his set piece has come a long way."
Not that Porecki needed any more impetus than returning from long-term injury to the Wallaby jersey, but the chance to get out in the Hunter community has also proven infectious - with the Wallabies well supported in the week leading up the match.
The game on Sunday is close to selling out, already likely to blow past the Novocastrian rugby crowd record of 20,088, who turned out in torrential conditions in 2012 when the Wallabies infamously went down 9-6 to Scotland.
Porecki is hungry to make a statement, and should the Wallabies win, it would mark the first time the Australian national rugby union side has tasted victory in the Steel City.
"We went to the Wildfires game and had a signing session," Porecki said of some of the Newcastle and Hunter fan interactions.
"You could just see the excitement in the people around here... they're thanking us as players for coming here and having a Test match here.
"It means a massive deal. For the kids to actually have that exposure, that's what keeps kids in the game. You have those experiences, you have those memories and it kicks on. I always remember that when I was a kid, those little moments.
"The more we can create that in Australian rugby, the better."
