Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii believes moving to the wing will make him a better player as he looks to lift the Wallabies ahead of Saturday's second Test against the All Blacks.
Suaalii and the Wallabies have settled into their Sydney base, eager to make amends following a 50-19 defeat to the All Blacks.
The 23-year-old has played back-to-back games on the wing, but finished both in the centres after injuries to Len Ikitau.
It remains to be seen where Suaalii will play this weekend, with Ikitau (concussion), Hunter Paisami (suspension), and Jordan Petaia (ankle) all out.
But Suaalii believes the experience will be beneficial as he turns into a versatile weapon for the side.
"It's a different part of my journey of learning to be a great rugby player to learn different positions, but I'm enjoying it," he told reporters.
"I've probably only had 70 minutes or so on the wing [between the two games] but I'm enjoying it. Seeing the game from a different perspective helps me be a better centre, a better fullback, a better 12 (inside centre).
Like many, Suaalii was motivated to right last weekend's wrongs after a promising first half slipped away.
He pointed to their recent golden run under Les Kiss as sign the team is on the right track in their attempts to end their recent losing record against the All Blacks.
"For myself, I know there's a belief in the group that we work hard and we reviewed the game brutally and honestly as well," Suaalii notes,
"We can just sit here and talk about the last week we had against the All Blacks but we had great momentum going from those games against Argentina, great wins against Italy and Japan. For us, it's not just looking at last week and keeping focused on last week, there's a bigger plan to what we're doing.
"For us as a crew, I'm real confident that this week will be great."
Next month marks two years since Suaalii burst onto the scene, making his professional Rugby debut in a famous Australian win over England.
"I think I've put on the Australian jersey now around 27-28 times. Every single time I still get that first time feeling of putting the jersey on," he reflects on the journey.
"It's a privilege to play for this country and to play for the Wallabies. To go against the All Blacks, I think that's the biggest rivalry… I get to live out the dream I've always wanted since I was a kid.
"I'm really enjoying the travel and Rugby. [It was] challenging over the weekend, but we'll bounce back and be great this weekend."
