Jim Tucker | September 12, 2008

AS a kid, Stirling Mortlock never idolised rugby stars. His worship was heaped on Michael Jordan and his outrageous ability on a basketball court.

Ask the All Blacks. If there is one Wallaby they fear can change the course of tomorrow night's huge Tri-Nations showdown, it is the 102kg tormentor in the gold No.12 jersey.

Mortlock is Australian rugby's magic moments man. That leg-driving, turf-shredding stride of his has history and the Kiwis know it.

He broke their hearts at the 2003 World Cup with that 80m intercept try. He did it again in Melbourne last year by picking on the suspect link in the All Blacks backline.

As a captain, showing the way by skittling a wall of black tenpins will be better than any words he can bark at Suncorp Stadium.

When he first hit top rugby a decade ago the young Mortlock was permanently wired with energy and loved to reverse slam dunk footballs over the crossbar at ACT Brumbies training.

It was a nod to Jordan.

"As a teenager playing basketball, rugby and whatnot, Michael Jordan was the sort of guy you couldn't take your eyes off," Mortlock said.

"He was my idol growing up. He was always the man in the clutch moments to step up."

Jordan was a quotes goldmine during his time at the top of the NBA in the US.

If one Jordan line fits Mortlock it is this: "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen."

That's Australia's Tri-Nations destiny. We've heard all week about how ferocious it's going to be, how exciting and how close. Even how overdue the Wallabies are for a major trophy as if losing big Tests somehow means you deserve the next. Rubbish.

Which Wallaby is going to make it happen?

A Matt Giteau, a Rocky Elsom? A Mortlock who wants the ball when the contest is fiercest?

At 31, Mortlock is a father of three. Off the field, the wilder side of his youth is now restricted to Harley-Davidson Australia's "Rev Up Your Wild Side" photo auction to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Robbie Deans arrived in Australia with a history of forward skippers for his teams. Todd Blackadder, Reuben Thorne and Richie McCaw had led the coach's Crusaders sides in New Zealand.

He had no qualms about anointing Mortlock.

"You need players who embrace the challenge and welcome it. That's the most obvious physical element of leadership," Deans said.

"You hear a lot about captains being in the forwards but when you've got a guy like Stirlo who is so wholeheartedly committed to the physical aspects of the game, it's not an issue.

"You always know he's going to be up for the game. Players tend to be drawn to that sort of person out on the ground particularly when things are difficult."

Things will get difficult at Suncorp Stadium. They always do against the All Blacks.

If things get as pressured as they did in Marseilles on October 6, 2007, when the Wallabies were bundled out of the World Cup by England, Mortlock hopes his captaincy growth shines in a more subtle way.

In George Gregan's new autobiography, Halfback, Half Forward, Mortlock's former teammate says the half-time direction in that dire 12-10 quarter-final loss was poor.

"It wasn't specific or positive enough. The message was quite loose," Gregan said.

It wasn't a jab at Mortlock because coach John Connolly, forwards coach Michael Foley and backs coach Scott Johnson also had their say in that small, yet vital, break from the frenzy of play and the heaving grandstands.

"Possibly, when we came together we should have had more clarity in addressing the things that needed to be rectified," Mortlock reflected.

"Personally, I remember being quite annoyed at how we were going in that game.

"It just reinforces to me you've got to be able to step back from where your emotions would normally go.

"As a player, I'm pretty hyped up and excitable and can get quite 'in the moment'.

"That attribute of being very calm, like a John Eales, and clear in really high-pressure moments is something I'm improving on in my growth as a captain."

Mortlock is clear that the fresh team environment created for the Wallabies by Deans in just 14 weeks is a winner. Fewer meetings, fewer staff, less information overload.

"He's had the ability to free up a lot of the blokes' minds. It's been that way for me and it's made my job a lot easier," Mortlock said.

"He has a knack of simplifying things and still identifying priorities. It's reduced the amount of stress and the end result is you're seeing guys playing to their potential.

"While rugby has been getting up to speed with professionalism, there has been a trend to impose more and more load on coaches, staff and players because everyone is 'professional'.

"Robbie has released the shackles and hopefully we put that to good use at Suncorp."

On match eve in Melbourne last year, Mortlock even named centre rival Luke McAlister as the potential fracture point: "Do our job well and we'll take the opportunity to go there."

He named him.

It was Babe Ruth pointing to the bleachers where he was going to dispatch a home run.

It didn't happen in the second minute or the 42nd. It happened in the 72nd.

Bang! Mortlock made the angled run on McAlister. He was through to set up the winning try.

There'll be a Test-turning moment tomorrow night if a Wallaby is good enough to grab it.

Perhaps the last word should go to "Mr Clutch" himself.

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it," Jordan said.

Through the All Blacks or around them ... Mortlock's Wallabies have to find a way.