Henry keen to see Carter at No.10

The battle between Andrew Mehrtens and Carlos Spencer for full use of the All Black No.10 jersey rages on, but from the mists of battle a possible winner appears to be emerging - Daniel Carter.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has expressed his desire to see Carter play at fly-half this weekend in the last round of the NPC - but Canterbury coach Aussie McLean has yet to yea or nay the decree passed down from on high.

"My job is to do the best for the Canterbury rugby team, and that is what I will do," he said.

Canterbury require a bonus-point win over Northland on Saturday to be absolutely assured of a semi-final spot, and such considerations might weigh heavier on McLean's mind than the needs of the national coach.

But Henry did get one request granted - All Black star Mils Muliaina will play at centre for Auckland on Saturday, switching positions with Ben Atiga who has been a regular midfielder this season.

But making the fullback-centre alteration was not such an issue for Auckland coach Pat Lam - his side have no chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, and Friday's match against fellow no-hopers, Otago, at Eden Park is their final fixture.

"They were very keen to see the changes and that was no problem for us because they [Muliaina and Atiga] have done it for the Blues and Auckland in the past," said Lam.

"They are both comfortable there so we were happy to accommodate them."

Lam added that there was little indication from the national selectors whether they were more interested in the positional swap for Muliaina or Atiga.

Canterbury will on Thursday name their starting lineup for this weekend's Ranfurly Shield defence in Christchurch.