Disruptive Cheika tactics embolden Lebanon

Lebanon winger Josh Mansour concedes Michael Cheika can be a bit of a "hothead", and captain Mitchell Moses has already seen the cranky side of the former Wallabies coach.

But beyond the impassioned outbursts, there is a considered approach to Cheika's coaching which, regardless of how Lebanon fare this week, offers some food for thought on how league should be played.

Cheika faces his biggest test of the Rugby League World Cup so far when he coaches the Cedars against Australia on Friday (Saturday AEDT) in Huddersfield.

"I've learned a lot from Cheik and really enjoyed my time with him," Moses said.

"You've heard all the stories about how he can get teams up for anything. I can see what all the hype is about.

'It's amazing (how he does it), you've got some part-timers here and he's coached the best players in the world. (How) he talks to players in different scenarios, everyone gets a lot out of him.

"He's got cranky but he's (mostly) been tame."

Cheika has a big week ahead of him, with his other job as the coach of Argentina's rugby union side requiring him to be in London for their meeting with England less than 48 hours after the Australia clash.

With a league coaching career that is only three competitive games old, Cheika has adapted some of his union expertise and tried to apply it to the 13-man game.

The Cedars' opening runout of the tournament - a 34-12 loss to New Zealand - was marked by union-style short kick-offs designed to regain the ball.

It was a tactic Jamaica copied against the Kiwis and it led New Zealand to stack their 40-metre line with five players in their final group meeting with Ireland.

"Adam Doueihi's boot is so good and he's got so much hang-time, we thought why not give it a crack?," Mansour said.

"It threw a bit of a curveball at the Kiwis. They wanted to play structured and we want to make things as disruptive as possible.

"There's a few tactics that get thrown around at training, but we'll leave them in the back pocket for Australia."

The ball-steals have also caused headaches, most notably against Ireland where Lebanon continually stifled their opponent's go forward by depriving them of the ball.

"Having a union background, he's taken a hands-on approach at the ruck," said Mansour, who also credited assistant coach Matt King for his input.

"He's got a lot of experience, and it all starts at the ruck."

So what else can Cheika conjure up to unsettle Mal Meninga's Kangaroos?

"Who knows?" Moses said. "We'll have to try and bring them out against the Aussies and see what happens."