Rocked by the World Cup loss of Allan Alaalatoa, the shattered Wallabies have just seven days to regroup before the second Bledisloe Cup clash in Dunedin.
Australia started brightly in the opening Test in Melbourne, playing the best 30 minutes of rugby in their three games since Eddie Jones replaced Dave Rennie as coach.
But unable to turn pressure into points, they fizzled out with the All Blacks running in six tries in the 38-7 victory on Saturday night to secure the Bledisloe for a 21st straight year.
Jones was at the helm when Australia last won that trophy, and he was also the last coach to taste success in Dunedin when the Wallabies won at Carisbrook 23-15 back in 2001, before the covered Forsyth Barr Stadium was built.
He's set to turn to co-captain James Slipper to start at tighthead on Saturday with Alaalatoa undergoing surgery this week after he ruptured an achilles tendon during a scrum in the MCG match.
Prop Taniela Tupou (ribs) and veteran flanker Michael Hooper (calf) will also be missing, with props Tom Lambert and Zane Nonggorr joining the squad in New Zealand.
Teammate Angus Bell said he could hear Alaalatoa in pain when the scrum went down, as he became the fourth Wallaby in 12 months to suffer a ruptured achilles.
Bell had no theory on that toll but said the loss of Alaalatoa was huge, with Australia's World Cup campaign starting in France on September 10.
"It's a massive loss - Al's a big part of our team, a big part of our leadership and he holds a lot of respect in our group," said loosehead prop Bell, who had his best Test in the gold jumper.
"As well as being a world-class tighthead, that's just the start of what we lose with Allan, so it's going to be hard without him...we've got blokes in that position that can step up and fill that void but it's a very hard void to fill."
Still working his way back to peak form after his ACL injury, centre Samu Kerevi said Australia was eager for their rematch with the All Blacks, who are unbeaten in three Tests this year and have clinched the Rugby Championship title.
"It's good it's kind of a short turnaround for us to get back on the horse," Kerevi said.
"You want to keep building towards the World Cup but next week, it's so important for us to bounce back.
"We put in some tough training sessions in the last couple of weeks and to get a result like that wasn't good enough.
"But we see the improvements in our team that we want, with the way we want it to go."
Kerevi's new centre partner Jordan Petaia showed promise while 22-year-old playmaker Carter Gordon, in his first Test start, delivered a mixed bag.
"I was really proud of Carts (Gordon), a big game to start, and I thought he's growing as a man and as a player," Kerevi said.
"He's still a young kid but he's got no fear in that space."
