Robbie Deans has warned his players to prepare for an NZ line-up desperate to avoid a third consecutive Tri Nations loss.

Defeat will effectively spell the end of each side's Tri Nations campaign while the Wallabies - who are also staring down the barrel of three straight defeats - must win to remain in the hunt for the Bledisloe Cup.

And while the undefeated Springboks have taken a stranglehold on the tournament with their kicking game, Deans is convinced the most enterprising team will prevail this weekend.

"I don't think either side is going to play totally conservatively, unless they're able to and also prevail - which is unlikely," Deans said.

"Because both sides are at the point where we both want to stay alive in the competition and anything other than a result for either side probably won't be enough to achieve that.

"So under that circumstance teams will probably be more prepared to take a risk."

His calls for an open affair follow All Blacks coach Graham Henry's demands for law changes in order to reverse the current trend of incessant kicking in the post Experimental Law Variations era.

But Deans offered a more diplomatic response when asked to assess the current state of the game.

"Everyone looks for different things in the game and I guess it probably depends on which side you're supporting and how they're doing at any given moment," Deans said.

"Because you get such varied opinions, and I think that is one of the great elements about rugby, is that it has the capacity to be so many different things.

"It can look like League, it can look like AFL, it can look like Union ... and within that people have preferences for different components.

"Some like to see the ball mauled, some like to see scrimmaging, some like to see the expanse of the ground used.

"Most of all they like to see their team do well - that's probably what it all comes down to in the end."

Deans is hopeful Rocky Elsom's return will bring some much-needed composure to the Wallabies' performance.

But the coach admits he's unsure just what impact the 26-year-old will have following a three-month layoff with bone bruising of the knee.

"He'll want to play 80 (minutes) no doubt," Deans said of the imposing 40-Test flanker.

"His lungs will be burning as everyone's do. He's a conscientious bloke so he's worked hard but he hasn't had a lot of recent match play.

"It'll depend on the contest and the nature of the contest, if it's stop-start then, who knows, but he's a surprising character and we'll just respond to what we see.

"Hopefully the impact that he has on the group and the way his presence manifests itself will be a bit of composure, because there's nothing in the game that intimidates him."

Having played their opening two fixtures on the road, skipper George Smith says his side is looking forward to playing in front of a near sell-out crowd at a ground where they last tasted defeat in 2005.

"The support that we've got from the Sydney public has been fantastic in the past and hopefully that continues with tomorrow night's game," Smith said.

"The boys love playing against the All Blacks in an occasion like this and we've definitely prepared well for this match so we're definitely not leaving anything to chance."