New Zealand captain Benji Marshall says actions will speak louder than words as the Kiwis look to restore pride after a mistake-riddled 26-4 loss to Australia on Friday night.
Marshall, who was leading the nation for the first time since 2012 and became the country's most-capped skipper, was adamant it's a "pretty simple fix", despite the substantial margin at WIN Stadium.
"I guess leadership comes with responsibility and we've got a big job this week in terms of getting the boys back on track," he said.
"We just need to hold onto the ball and build pressure. With pressure the opposition cracks and that's what happened to us tonight."
Match Highlights: Kangaroos v Kiwis
Coach Michael Maguire constantly mentioned his side's inability to "build pressure" as their downfall, having completed their sets at a meagre 66 per cent.
The Kiwis made 13 errors and conceded two tries from intercept passes and will be acutely aware they'll need a huge improvement to trouble Wayne Bennett's Lions in Auckland next Saturday.
"It's a big thing that these boys need to understand - at this level, it's one play or it might be back-to-back sets or those sorts of little things that you need to build," Maguire said.
"We spoke about that but we weren't able to execute it. We need to own that and be accountable to what we need to do in the next week.
"We have high expectations in the jersey. We had a number of young guys come in and play and unfortunately they didn't get what this jersey is all about at this present moment."
Five-eighth Shaun Johnson had an unhappy night with his kicking game in particular but Maguire backed the mercurial playmaker to rebound.
When hot potato football goes wrong
However, New Zealand have Kieran Foran and Kodi Nikorima waiting in the wings as halves options.
"I'll talk to Shaun around that space. We'll go through that," Maguire said of Johnson's display.
"We've seen Shaun perform and build pressure and tonight just wasn't his night. We've definitely got to look at that."
Debutant Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad scored New Zealand's only try in the 33rd minute and earned praise from the coach.
Nicoll-Klokstad gets a try on debut
The Raiders fullback slotted in at left centre and looked very comfortable.
"He showed some really good form there in the centres, so he's going to grow in that space," Maguire said.
"He showed a lot of confidence there, so I was really pleased with how he played."
