HE was unable to convert the best chance in the opening half of Saturday night’s friendly match against Greece, but Blayney’s Socceroo Nathan Burns is ready to go “full throttle” against the same opponent tonight.

Burns played 72 minutes in wet conditions at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night for the national team, a match the Socceroos won 1-0 thanks to a late Mathew Leckie strike.

As the former Bathurst ’75-Western talent and his fellow Socceroos look towards the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they are keen to do better against Greece in Melbourne tonight.

Australian coach Ange Postecoglou wants his men to show intensity for the entire 90 minutes at Etihad Stadium.

“There should be no hesitation in anything we do now. We should go full throttle now right through till the World Cup,” Postecoglou said.

“I thought we deserved the win [on Saturday] in difficult conditions against a good opponent. We controlled the game. 

“We created some good opportunities for ourselves, we hit the post, their ’keeper pulled off a couple of good saves and we should have had a penalty, and we had a disallowed goal. 

“It was just desserts at the end that we got our goal. Our general play deserved it against an opponent that was well organised and made it hard for us. We kept our discipline and if you do, you get your rewards.”

Starting in attack for the Socceroos, Burns was keen to mark his 21st match in national colours with a strong performance.

After play was end-to-end in the opening stages in front of almost 40,000 fans, in the 26th minute Burns and Robbie Kruse gave the Greece side a big scare.

Kruse played Burns in behind the defence with a deft touch, but unfortunately the man named the 2014-15 Johnny Warren Medal winner as the best player in the A-League, scuffed his shot.

It was one of 17 shots the Socceroos had during the course of the match compared to just five from Greece.

When Burns was subbed off in the second half the game was still locked at nil-all and a draw looked even more likely when Tim Cahill’s 89th minute header which found the back of the net was disallowed. The ball played into the box to the Socceroos star was ruled to have travelled out.

However, Leckie ensured the hosts had something to celebrate and will carry confidence into the second leg of the Dodoni Series tonight.

Before the Socceroos kick off tonight at 8pm, another Central West product will be in action in national colours at Etihad Stadium. 

Former NSW Western Mariners talent Ellie Carpenter will line up for the Matildas at they take on New Zealand from 5pm.

Carpenter is keen to press her claims for selection in the Australian team which will head to the Rio Olympic Games later this year and tonight is an ideal chance for her to do so.

On Saturday as the Matildas played the first of their two games against the Football Ferns at Ballarat’s Morsehead Park – a friendly they won 2-0 thanks to a Caitlin Foord brace – Carpenter started on the bench.

She was injected into match in the 64th minute, replacing Elise Kellond-Knight, and will be hoping for more game time tonight. The Matildas have not lost to their Trans Tasman rivals since October, 1994.