Nathan Cleary says the battle for the Australian halfback spot with Daly Cherry-Evans is the furthest thing from his mind despite making an ominous start to life as a Test international.
Cleary fell two points short of the record points haul for a debutant set by Andrews Johns (30 points v South Africa, 1995) as he played a lead role in Australia's dominant 84-0 World Cup win over Scotland.
The Panthers halfback gave the Kangaroos a look into their long-term future when he laid on three tries, scored one of his own and kicked 12 goals from 15 attempts.
In the short-term, however, head coach Mal Meninga has a decision to make as the knockout stages approach.
Head coach Mal Meninga said Cleary would now feel "like part of the team" after being rested for the tournament opener following his exploits in Penrith's premiership triumph.
Australia have one final group game against Italy next week where Cherry-Evans and Cleary are hoping to push their case to become the Kangaroos' chief playmaker for the finals.
Meninga won't be drawn into indicating where his loyalty lies and Cleary, publicly at least, says he is more than happy to take a backseat.
"I don't really think about that (rivalry with Cherry-Evans)," he said.
"I'm just trying to enjoy the moment ... I think it's a bit of a media beat-up.
"Cherry and I get on well, if I get picked or not ... I'm happy either way."
If he was trying to play it low key, Cleary didn't do a very good job and would have left Meninga with an even greater headache as he led Australia's ruthless 15-try demolition against the Scots on a rain-soaked night in Coventry.
"That's the values we have," Cleary said. "It's not about who we are playing or where we are.
"We want to play well and play hard for each other.
"I just want to put my best foot forward for the team and try and make the team better."
The 10, 276 fans at Coventry Building Society Stadium were treated to a procession from start to finish with Josh Addo-Carr grabbing four tries and Campbell Graham, who could well have been playing for Scotland at this tournament, securing a hat-trick on debut.
Australia were so dominant that Scotland had just one play-the-ball in the Kangaroos' 20-metre zone and even that came in the dying minutes of the game.
Meninga opted to give skipper James Tedesco an early night after scoring a try straight after half-time.
Valentine Holmes got a stint in the No.1 role as Jack Wighton grabbed a double and Isaah Yeo, Ben Hunt, Matt Burton and Angus Crichton helped Australia hammer home their superiority.
It was a tough night for Scotland. Six years ago they secured an historic draw with New Zealand at the Four Nations but are some way off that level now.
The Bravehearts only had one established NRL player - Euan Aitken - in their side and the defeat was the biggest in their history.
"We were playing against the best players in the world," said Scotland's Nathan Graham, adding "75 per cent of our players are part-time players and it's a massive ask to step up to this level."
