Anzac test: Will the Kiwis be massacred again tonight?

Coach Stephen Kearney talks to players during a New Zealand Kiwis training session. Photo / Getty Images

It's not easy finding the correct metaphor for the Kiwis' Anzac test struggles.

Mt Everest - a peak once considered unscaleable but which these days succumbs to anyone with a pair of hiking boots doesn't quite fit (the Anzac test is hardly the pinnacle of the game).

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner springs to mind, but is rather ruined by the fact the Kiwis have once actually snared their prey.

Guess we'll have to settle for Alfred, Lord Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade. Into the Valley of Death rode the brave 600 and all that.

Okay, so the Kiwis have actually only sent about 180-odd troops into the Anzac test meat grinder, but the results on foreign fields have been largely the same as the Battle of Balaclava.

Massacres have been the norm. Over 10 matches on Aussie soil the Kangaroos have outscored the Kiwis 333-110 - an average match score of 33-11.

After Tri Nations, Four Nations and World Cup successes in recent times, better is expected of the Kiwis this year. But should it be? The theory is that the Aussies are better in mid-season test matches because they are less affected by the ridiculously short preparation time granted to the teams.

Regular State of Origin exposure helps the Australians form combinations, while the superior individual ability of the Kangaroos' galaxy of superstars tends to expose a Kiwis side that has barely had time to polish up the haka, let alone form any sort of on-field cohesion.

"It kind of shows," admitted workhorse Kiwis backrower Bronson Harrison. "We just tend to flow a bit better when we spend more time together. We have performed a lot better in tournaments than we have in Anzac tests. But we are looking to turn that around this week."

The question is, can they? Their biggest hope seems to lie in the fact that 13 of the side that won November's Four Nations final should run out tonight.

By comparison, Australia have just eight players returning. With the core of their side intact, the Kiwis should be less affected by the short preparation time. But they laugh off suggestions they might even start favourites.

"Over the last few years the ledger has changed a little bit with us coming up trumps in a couple of tournaments," said Simon Mannering, the big game centre.

"But I don't know about a favourite tag or what not. Australia is the big powerhouse in rugby league and I'm sure they still take that tag into tonight. The Anzac test has been one that we haven't really done very well in at all, so it would be nice to put in a good performance that gives ourselves a chance to win the game."

This Australian side may look more threatening than the one the Kiwis defeated in November, but the Kiwis aren't worrying about who will be wearing the green and gold. They take it as a given that any Kangaroos side will be a good side, Harrison said.

"They are a strong side all over the park," Harrison said. "Our strength is in the team combining so I think that is what we will focus on. We probably won't worry so much about the individuals of Australia."

Over to you, Alfred: "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, All in the Valley of Death ... Rode the, er, 17."


TALE OF WOE

League's Anzac tests:

* May 7, 2010: Australia beat New Zealand 12-8 at AAMI Park, Melbourne

* May 8, 2009: Australia beat New Zealand 38-10 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

* May 9, 2008: Australia beat New Zealand 28-12 at Sydney Cricket Ground

* April 20, 2007:' Australia beat New Zealand 30-6 at Suncorp Stadium

* May 5, 2006: Australia beat New Zealand 50-12 at Suncorp Stadium

* April 22, 2005: Australia beat New Zealand 32-16 at Suncorp Stadium

* April 23, 2004: Australia beat New Zealand 37-10 at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle

* April 21, 2000: Australia beat New Zealand 52-0 at Stadium Australia, Sydney

* April 23, 1999: Australia beat New Zealand 20-14 at Stadium Australia, Sydney

* April 24, 1998: New Zealand beat Australia 22-16 at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

* April 25, 1997: Australia beat New Zealand 34-22 at Sydney Football Stadium

TOTAL: Australia 10 New Zealand 1