Australian back-rower Luke Lewis said the Kangaroos were expecting New Zealand to try and run through them and not around them in Friday night’s rugby league Test in Auckland.

The Kiwis have picked a monster side for the Eden Park encounter, with a powerful pack backed up by the selection of regular back-rower Simon Mannering in the centres and three forwards in Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jesse Bromwich and Alex Glenn on the bench.

“We know it’s going to be a physical game all around the park – they’re a big side, they’re fast,” Lewis said on Wednesday.

“I don’t think there’s going to be too much in it – two points, four points.

“It’s just one of those games that’s going to be played up the middle, all physical, just a real tough, grinding Test match.”

Adding to the slug-it-out nature of the contest is the appointment of English referee Richard Silverwood for his fourth straight mid-year Test.

International rules dictate that matches are controlled by one whistleblower – rather than the two referee system the players are used to playing under in the NRL – with Lewis predicting it will add a little more venom to the tackles.

“I think it will be a lot different to a normal NRL game – there’ll be a lot more shoulder charges and a lot more physicality out there,” Lewis said.

“It’s a totally different game to NRL, the rules are different, different referee.”

Players from both sides took part in a fan day at Eden Park on Wednesday, taking part in a series of clinics on the field with groups of children.

Both teams will hold their final training runs at Eden Park on Thursday.