Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie wants the element of surprise to be on his side when Australia attempts to bring the Bledisloe Cup home for the first time since 2002.

The identity of Australia’s five-eighth and place kicker for the opening Bledisloe Cup Test remains a mystery, and McKenzie is desperate to keep it that way.

When McKenzie named his 30-squad on Friday, New Zealand officials had a platform to start piecing together a likely team for the opening trans-Tasman clash on Saturday week in Sydney.

But the one unknown is at No.10, with McKenzie retaining Quade Cooper and uncapped duo Matt Toomua and Bernard Foley in his trimmed-down squad for the ANZ Stadium match.

“All three are there so you’re going to have to keep speculating about it,” McKenzie said, before cheekily adding that he’d already decided who will replace incumbent five-eighth James O’Connor in the starting side.

“We know where we’re going. Let me put it that way.”

McKenzie was similarly guarded when it came to who would handle the Wallabies’ kicking duties, an Achilles’ heel in the opening clash of the British and Irish Lions series.

“I don’t think I have to be running around telling anybody anything,” he said.

“They (the All Blacks) will look at the list and start trying to work it out I guess, but my job’s not to make their life easy.

“We’ll hopefully have a few surprises on the night. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t, given we’re playing at home.

“Hopefully we can keep our powder dry and turn up with a few tricks up our sleeves.

“…There’s a couple of guys in the squad that have a real x-factor.”