Wallabies coach Michael Cheika believes Irish superstar Johnny Sexton will be seething about a shock demotion for Saturday night's Test series opener.
Sexton has been benched in favour of Leinster teammate Joey Carbery, one of six changes from the team that completed a Six Nations grand slam in March.
Coach Joe Schmidt has also chosen to rotate out battle-hardened forwards Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Tadhg Furlong and Devin Toner for the enticing Suncorp Stadium after a long northern season.
But Cheika, who coached Sexton for several seasons at Leinster, says the 73-Test five-eighth won't be pleased to be rested.
"You would be a brave man to be telling Sexton he wasn't playing," he told reporters on Thursday.
"I had to deal with it for a few years where I had to tell him he wasn't playing and he almost ripped my head off every time.
"The other lad (Carbery) is a fine player ... he's got a real skill set and to be honest I don't think Johnny would be keen to give him a chance to play either."
Flanker Peter O'Mahony will captain the Irish in the absence of injured skipper Rory Best, while former Chiefs three-quarter Bundee Aki will be a threat to Australia at inside centre.
Despite Ireland having a 39-year win drought in Australia, Cheika was quick to claim underdog status as Kiwi coach Schmidt had developed the best team in their rugby history.
He highlighted their ball retention and confidence as key to their success.
"They've got out and out gun players and they're very consistent," Cheika said.
"They've got a lot of self-belief. They believe they're coming here to win 3-0 from what I've read and seen."
But Schmidt pointed to Australia's dangerous backline and last October's win over the All Blacks in Brisbane as reasons to be wary of continuing their 15-month unbeaten streak.
IRELAND:
Rob Kearney, Keith Earls, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale, Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; CJ Stander, Jordi Murphy, Peter O'Mahony (capt), James Ryan, Iain Henderson, John Ryan, Rob Herring, Jack McGrath.
Res: Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Tadh Furlong, Quinn Roux, Jack Conan, Kirean Marmion, Johnny Sexton, Jordan Lamour.
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