Wallabies lock Kane Douglas plans to be more assertive if he retains his spot in the team for the final Test against the British and Irish Lions, after admitting to being hesitant in the second game.
NSW second-rower Douglas has started each of the first two Tests despite not being named in the original 25-man preliminary squad.
The 24-year-old forward wasn’t happy with his performance in the second Test in Melbourne, where Australia squared the three-match series with a one-point win.
“I just felt a little bit off, whether it was just my day leading into the game, or whatever,” Douglas said on Monday.
“I probably just need to fly in a bit more than I did.
“Looking through the footage, I just looked a bit hesitant towards a few things, that I wasn’t in the first game.”
Douglas might need to assume more responsibility on Saturday depending on how captain and second-row partner James Horwill fares in his appeal hearing on Monday evening.
“If he (Horwill) is out, we’ve got Simmo (Rob Simmons) there and there are boys that are in the squad that can fill that role,” Douglas said.
“Obviously, he’s our captain so, if we did lose him, someone else would have to take that role, so there’s other leaders in the team to do that.”
A year ago, Douglas hadn’t played a Test match, but was hoping to get a bench spot for the Lions series until an especially untimely injury to NSW teammate Sitaleki Timani offered more.
“It was sad for Sita to miss out. You think he would have been a walk-up start to be starting,” Douglas said.
Among the crowd watching Kane in the first Test in Brisbane was his older brother Luke, a highly regarded forward with NRL club Gold Coast.
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