Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will make his return from injury from the bench against Argentina early Sunday morning [AEST], as Wallabies coach Les Kiss again opted for further changes to his run-on XV.
Suaalii will wear the No. 23 in his comeback from a minor hamstring strain in a Wallabies team that is without regular skipper Harry Wilson, who has been given the week off after playing all five Tests so far this year.
Veteran prop Allan Alaalatoa will captain Australia in Wilson's absence as part of a new-look front-row that will see Waratahs front-rower Isaac Kailea play his first Test since 2024.
"You would have noted that there's a couple of players that we've just tried to give a breath over the last couple of Test matches, and it's been a long season," Kiss told Australian reporters via video call.
"It's just managing Harry in this match because there's a lot of Tests to play as well. But focusing on this one, we feel that we've got a lot of experience around that back row anyway with the other boys in there, and certainly some experience with Allan in there as well in the front row."
Kailea has meanwhile endured a challenging run with form since his switch from the Melbourne Rebels, slipping down the prop pecking order after debuting against Georgia under Joe Schmidt in 2024.
But he is now firmly back in contention for a World Cup place under Kiss, and will pack down alongside Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Alaalatoa up front.
Locks Jock Canham and Jeremy Williams combine in the second-row with the Western Force skipper earning a start after several appearances off the bench. Canham, meanwhile, has been a revelation for the Wallabies this year and returns after sitting out Australia's win over Japan in Townsville.
With Wilson absent, Rob Valetini switches to the No. 8 jersey while Tom Hooper will see his first minutes since Australia's heartbreaking loss to Ireland last month. Hooper sustained a calf injury after coming on late in that match, but has now fully recovered to win his first Test run-on start of 2026. Fraser McReight will wear the No. 7 jersey, with Carlo Tizzano unlucky to miss out after a superb performance against the Brave Blossoms a fortnight ago.
Kiss has otherwise retained the same backline that started against Japan, meaning Reds centres Hunter Paisami and the impressive Isaac Henry have the opportunity to further embed their midfield partnership.
While Len Ikitau and Suaalii were both available for selection, Kiss has opted to give the Brumbies centre another week in camp before throwing him back into the selection mix. Suaalii could meanwhile see time in the midfield or on the wing, with the star code-hopper also covering the back three from the bench.
"Joseph, coming back from that hamstring, slight little twinge there, he trained well," Kiss said of Suaalii. "We feel that there's an opportunity to just maintain some continuity in that midfield that we did with Carter [Gordon] and Lonners [Ryan Lonergan] there [in the halves] and the back three.
"Just to keep that [backline] in its right place and then utilise Joseph in any way that we wish from that position, in terms of the positions he can cover. Likely 13 at this stage, is his first position he'll cover; of course we know Zac can go to 12 if we need to as well. So yes, that's just trying to use our resources in different ways."
AUSTRALIA
Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Isaac Henry, Hunter Paisami, Harry Potter, Carter Gordon, Ryan Lonergan; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Tom Hooper, Jeremy Williams, Josh Canham, Allan Alaalatoa, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Isaac Kailea. Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Massimo De Lutiis, Lachlan Shaw, Charlie Cale, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.