The final piece in Australia's new-look selection panel has been set after dual international Michael O'Connor was unveiled as the trio's final member on Wednesday.
O'Connor brings with him a wealth of experience from his playing days in rugby and rugby league, as well as his time as Australia sevens coach. He has also been involved with the Wallabies as a selector before, serving alongside John Connolly in the lead-up to the 2007 World Cup. O'Connor will sit alongside Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and new Director of Rugby, Scott Johnson, the panel to get together properly once Johnson's commitments with the Scottish Rugby Union are completed at the end of the Six Nations.
But there's no reason why we should wait until then, right? Read on as we analyse the top three issues that should be at the forefront of the panel's collective mind.
Declare the captaincy open
This may sound crazy, but it's happened before. You only have to go back to 2011 and the preceding month before the World Cup to find a similar situation when then-Wallabies coach Robbie Deans dumped Rocky Elsom and promoted James Horwill to the top job.
Elsom still went on and started all of the Wallabies' key games during the tournament but it was a clear admission from Deans that the back-rower wasn't quite the right man for the job.
Eight years on, the situation is slightly different. No-one doubts current Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper's captaincy ability; in fact, if you look back across both his recent seasons with the Waratahs and Wallabies and you can see how he has steadily grown into the role.
Rugby Australia could not ask for a better shopfront window, either, as Hooper has never put a foot wrong off the field, conducts himself well in public, is a sparing user of social media and has rarely made excuses for his teams when they have finished on the wrong side of the ledger; of which there have been a number of cases in recent times.
It's worth remembering, too, that Hooper was effectively thrust into the role way back in 2014 when Stephen Moore went down injured in the first Test of the season. He has come a long way over the past five years, adding a second John Eales Medals along the way.
But there is the very real problem in that he is not the best No. 7 in the country when David Pocock is fit and that, as it stands, Test rugby is very much in a cycle of power ball-carrying and having the ability to play without the ball rather than with it.
Promote discussion on back-row composition
This change in policy can be borne out of the above, but has serious knock-on effects for the make-up of the Wallabies forward pack. If it came to be that Hooper was no longer the Wallabies captain, then an open and frank discussion could take place around his role in the team and Michael Cheika's insistence on playing a dual-fetcher system.
While it had success at Rugby World Cup 2015, and helped produce a memorable Bledisloe Cup victory in Sydney earlier that year, the combination has had sparing little success ever since. Such is the free-for-all the breakdown has become, side entry in particular going unpunished, that it has become increasingly difficult for players to get on the ball; a tackled player must virtually land at the arriving player's feet for there to be a reasonable chance of a steal being affected.
Pocock remains the clear leader in that skill across the world while Hooper's ability to assert himself on the game in other areas has weakened. He is not a big enough body to consistently bend a set defensive wall, and instead relies on fractures in the opposition line or space in the wider channels to get into the game.
There is no debate that Hooper is a wonderfully-talented rugby player; you don't win two John Eales Medals by way of luck. But by at least reviewing the back-row trio and exploring options to achieve a greater balance across it, the Wallabies may discover there are better compositions to be had.
Isi Naisarani's nearing eligibility clearance will only add to this discussion as, for the first time since Toutai Kefu's departure, save for the odd cameo from Scott Higginbotham, Wycliff Palu and others, the Wallabies will have genuine ball-carrying, lineout-jumping option at No.8.
It may be that the best combination available to the Wallabies continues to include both Hooper and Pocock; there is no point selecting a player to suit a certain style if he himself is not up to it. But the conversation must at least occur, and can only happen if, firstly, the captaincy is declared open.
Decide exactly what it is the Wallabies want from a No. 10
It seems the Wallabies backline, the halves in particular, might well have been getting some mixed messages last season.
When it was confirmed Stephen Larkham would depart the Wallabies coaching panel, the Test great said: "Ultimately Michael is responsible for the performance of the team. We have differences in attacking strategy and overall game philosophy. We couldn't agree on these key points and it is in the best interest of the team that they receive clear and consistent messages from their coaches."
Could it have been that Cheika's overall game strategy didn't fit with Larkham's attacking approach? Given what the Wallabies produced in stuttering performances against South Africa, Argentina, Wales, Italy and England, it seems entirely possible. They were just blown out of the water, thrice, by New Zealand, in case you'd forgotten.
And so this new panel of Cheika, Johnson and O'Connor have the opportunity to start afresh and, collaboratively, settle on the kind of player, or players, who can direct the team around the paddock.
Do they want an organiser who has a solid kicking game and can defend in the front line? Or is it someone who likes to chance their arm and take the line on? Is it a player who sits in the pocket and controls "out the back" rugby or another who flattens the attack up and holds a pass to the final moment?
Once the panel settles on the right fly-half to execute their desired game plan, they can set about finding the player to either be the ying to the No. 10's yang or someone who owns a similar skill-set. Do they want backline variety or do they go all-in on the one approach?
Cheika last year tried each of Kurtley Beale, Bernard Foley and Matt Toomua in the No. 10 jersey, with each struggling as much as the other. Only Beale appears unlikely to not fill that position once more, while the panel would be wise to declare it an open season that extends to Christian Leali'ifano, Quade Cooper and even Hamish Stewart.
There is, of course, a full Super Rugby season to chart before the run to World Cup begins with a shortened Rugby Championship. Injuries will occur, likely forcing changes in selection policy.
But for now, these are the three big discussion items Cheika, Johnson and O'Connor must work through. Find the right solution for each, and the Wallabies' World Cup campaign may not look as bleak as it does right now.