Pocock missed last year's tournament as he took a sabbatical from rugby but returned to international action in June against Ireland.

The 30 year-old was named in Michael Cheika's trimmed squad for this weekend's opener against the world champions, the Wallabies looking to claim back-to-back wins over their trans-Tasman rival.

The threat posed by Pocock is something New Zealand is wary of heading to ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

"He's always a big threat when he plays," Cane said. "The way he continually bounces back and plays at a high level is pretty outstanding. It just creates an awareness - we're on more of a high alert than normal around the breakdown.

"In every Test match there's always a big emphasis on the breakdown – whether it's their ball or our ball, disrupting their ball or trying to get fast ball.

"It will be a focus again."