Chastened Wallabies look to bring heat to keep Lions series alive

MELBOURNE :A beefed-up Australia will look to win the physical battle against the British & Irish Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday and avoid the ignominy of losing the series with a test to spare.

Missing key players, the Wallabies were outmuscled for the first hour of the 27-19 defeat in the Brisbane opener, leaving their belated comeback in vain.

Coach Joe Schmidt will look for more power in the collisions from loose forward Rob Valetini and lock Will Skelton whose collective brawn was missed at Lang Park as the duo nursed calf problems.

The Wallabies' fruitless efforts to punch holes in the Lions' line while giving their opponents leeway with the ball has been bemoaned by home fans and pundits all week.

Schmidt has demanded more intensity from his squad to keep the series alive before the third and final match in Sydney.

"We don't want to be nice and we don't want to be submissive," the New Zealander told reporters on Thursday.

"We didn't have the intention last week, and we don't have the intention this week of being submissive.

"I just think that they played on the edge really well.

"They got in amongst us, sometimes just beside us, which made it very hard to play and we're hopeful that we will be able to take that to them this week and keep them on the back foot a little bit more."

With rain forecast on Saturday, blue-collar grit and forward power may end up far more important than strike-plays and backline flair at the MCG, where a bumper crowd of 80,000-plus is tipped.

Although Schmidt said the six forwards on his bench were to cover players like Valetini and Skelton returning from injury, Lions coach Andy Farrell saw it as a clear signal of intent.

"It's obvious what they're going to bring and why they're