Australia will continue to target the minds of England's batsmen as much as their heads, while Jimmy Anderson says the tourists have been galvanised by the Jonny Bairstow saga.
Members of Steve Smith's side regularly talk about "headbutting the line" in their approach to sledging and that is exactly what transpired at the Gabba during the Ashes opener.
Several Australian players needled Bairstow about headbutting Cameron Bancroft at a Perth pub, igniting a storm that prompted England to slap a midnight curfew on their players.
Pacemen Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have already outlined their plan to continue a bouncer barrage throughout the five-Test series, which resumes at Adelaide Oval on Saturday with Australia holding a 1-0 lead.
Peter Handscomb, who played alongside Bairstow at Yorkshire this year, confirmed the verbals wouldn't halt in the second Test.
"It's something that's part of the game, it always has been, it always will be. If there's a moment that we can exploit someone's mental capabilities, well then yeah, we're going to go about it," Handscomb told reporters.
"As far as sledging goes it was probably some of the smartest stuff we've ever come up with.
"If it opens up a weakness we'll be pretty happy with it."
Handscomb said it wasn't his job to make Bairstow, who was notably subdued behind the stumps on day five of the first Test, "feel good".
"I was just asking him a question ... just wanted to get the facts before anything happened," the Victorian quipped after being among the Australians to pepper Bairstow with verbals on Sunday.
"When I played with him at Yorkshire we had a great time together. I really like Jonny. We got along really well but it's a different ball game now."
Anderson noted the tourists had rallied around Bairstow and fired back a few barbs.
"They were fairly quiet for the first few days when we were doing well. It was only on the fourth day when they became more vocal," England's all-time leading wicket-taker quipped.
"They waited until they were ahead in the game to do it.
"If anything it will galvanise us as a group.
"If we need any more incentive to get back in the series. It will give us that."
Smith, asked about Bairstow's second-innings dismissal in the first Test, responded "we were just trying to get in his head and it happened to work".
Anderson, who is renowned for his white-line fever and was involved in several verbal contests at the Gabba, was thrilled to hear Australia planned on going "hard at us".
"It's something I've always enjoyed. When someone is trying to get under my skin in all walks of life it makes me more determined," the right-armer said.
