Midfield hitman Matt Toomua knows he must keep his head, or face being burnt once again in the Bledisloe Cup pressure-cooker at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

While Kurtley Beale will offer the attacking finesse, Toomua provides the Wallabies’ defensive starch inside Australia’s new five-eighth for the series opener against the All Blacks.

But as much as he’d love to set the tone with an early bone-cruncher, Toomua says he learnt last year on his Test debut how easy it could be to get stung by the world champions.

“I’ve got no targets,” Toomua said on Thursday.

“I remember last year, I tried to work out a bit of a system and (then-winger) Ben Smith went straight past me.

“So these games, you can’t really let emotions get the best of you because they’re going to put you to bed.

“So for me, it’s about working within systems. If there’s an opportunity, great. But you can’t really shoot out of the line because they’re more than capable of making you pay for that.”

Lining up opposite Ma’a Nonu, Toomua knows he’ll have his work cut out containing New Zealand’s backline juggernaut.

“I’ve played Ma’a many, many times in Super Rugby,” he said.

“You actually cross him more when you’re playing 10 than 12 because, quite often, you have that slide defence.

“I dare say I’m going to cross him again, but I could be crossing (fullback) Ben Smith – there’s threats all over the park.

“So I can’t be focusing too much on one player, although he is someone who will keep my hands full.”

By Toomua’s reckoning, Beale will also have his hands full trying to stop Nonu.

The Wallabies, though, don’t see the need to hide Beale on the wing, where he often defends for the NSW Waratahs.

“We’ve got full confidence in him defending in the frontline,” Toomua said.

A year after making his Wallabies starting debut against the All Blacks as five-eighth and main man, Toomua admits this week has been much more enjoyable with 13 Tests under his belt.

“I remember this time last year it was a stressful week,” he said.

“Once the game was over, I kind of felt calm in a sense. There was just so much stress that whole week.

“That first one is about getting it out of the way.

“I’ve played the All Blacks twice since then. I’ve played a lot more Test matches, so I’m a lot more comfortable playing.”