Grant’s thoughts also drift to the Tongan wave that will be coming his way on Sunday. The Australians will meet Tonga at a sold-out CommBank Stadium in the Pacific Championships final.

It is a chance for Australia to atone for the shock 30-0 loss to the Kiwis in the corresponding game last year.

“As Kangaroos, we expect to be better than what we were last year,” Grant said. “The exciting thing is that this is a new group, trying to make our own statement. That’s probably a bit of the motivation for this team.

“We’ve had a big couple of games, the game against Tonga was a bit scrappy but we really improved in some areas against New Zealand.

“It’s about just bringing it all together for this one. Tonga have been awesome in this campaign, they were tough when we versed them in the first game.

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“They started fast and played their game against New Zealand, so we’re definitely expecting a big one. We’re also expecting a fair bit of red in the crowd as well.”

While Grant’s focus is on the Kangaroos, the star hooker hopes club side Melbourne comes to terms with Ryan Papenhuyzen during the pre-season. Ryan Papenhuyzen is a free agent now that the November 1 deadline has lapsed and the fullback hasn’t taken up an extension offer.

“I know what Paps brings to our footy club and he’s a pretty cluey guy, he will make the best decision for himself and his footy,” Grant said.

“I won’t be putting any pressure on him at all with that. What I will say is it’s pre-season, and we’ll be ripping in knowing that Paps is gonna be there in 2024 and that’s pretty exciting.”

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