Graham Lowe: The fuel has to last the distance

As they reflect over the next couple of days on how they can break their 50-year drought of test-match wins over Australia in Sydney, the Kiwis could do a lot worse than run a few tapes of last weekend's fantastic V8 Supercar race at Bathurst.

A close viewing of that annual motorsport spectacular will surely show the league boys that grunt up front is all very well, but when the chequered flag comes out it's usually the guys who have measured their effort across the whole contest who claim the spoils.

And those who go out full throttle for the first 40 or 50 laps, no matter how powerfully they start, are usually the blokes with their cars on the trailers, sitting in the pits watching the winners spraying the champagne around.

These top finishers have almost certainly combined the V8 grunt with driving finesse, good tactics and fuel conservation and perhaps even the ability to overcome a collision or two.

So, too, with league tests.

It's all very well the Kiwis being ahead on the scoreboard after 20 minutes and with a couple of the Aussies still in cloud cuckoo land from the opening bell-ringers dished out by a Kiwi pack breathing fire.

We've seen that many times in recent years. It's fine to start like a V8, as long as you don't finish like a Morris Minor.

But any Aussie who has played against the Kiwis will tell you the Kangaroos' game plan is to weather the physical confrontation in the first 20 minutes, then open them up out wide. It's the same plan the Aussies will follow tomorrow.

Indications from the New Zealand camp are they intend to be very physical.

That's great, but only if they can keep it balanced with a varied and challenging attack.

Veteran Ruben Wiki is the Kiwi forward the Aussies will be most wary of. He's the player they will give the most respect to. But the guy who could spring the biggest surprise is Wakefield's David Solomona.

He has all the power and aggression needed to take on the Australian forwards, but combines this with mobility and great off-loading which could trouble them up the middle.

Mobility is hard to beat, as the Tigers' smaller forwards proved in the NRL grand final two weeks ago.

The Kangaroos' smaller players will give the Kiwis the biggest headaches.

They have picked three of the best attacking players in the game - Andrew Johns, Trent Barrett and Darren Lockyer.

Barrett is the biggest of the three and can play loose forward as well as five-eighth but he is no giant.

Lockyer's running game is far better suited to fullback but Australian coach Wayne Bennett has demonstrated with his Broncos side that he prefers the number one jersey for his star player, Karmichael Hunt.

Johns is considered by some the best player in the game but he always brings out the best in Stacey Jones. This alone will be an interesting duel and Jones certainly won't be intimidated by the Aussie star.

The field kicking is a tremendous responsibility for Jones and Johns has the better of him there.

But the key to this match for both sides is the decision on when to open the game up.

The forwards in each camp are short of a gallop so they will cancel one another out. But to me, the Aussie back row looks far more mobile.

This is also a test of New Zealand's depth, which is at an all-time high. So much so that, given the use of the British-based players to choose from, you could probably pick another Kiwi side who could beat this one.

That side could include the likes of Joe Vagana, Shontayne Hape, Ali Lauiti'iti, Willie Poching, Lesley Vainikolo, Vinnie Anderson, Willie Talau, Sione Faumuina, and Robbie Paul to name a few. Throw in a few of the New Zealand A side and you come up with a bloody good team.

For donkeys' years the Kiwis have lacked true depth but now, apart from at half back and five-eighth, we look pretty strong.

Coach Brian McClennan has said his team will not fade after 20 minutes and even play stronger at the end. This is a bold call.

But it's refreshing to have a Kiwi coach willing to show some confidence in his team, in contrast to some of the dour media interviews we came to expect from previous Kiwi coaches.

This is also a big first-up test for the new coach and I know just how he feels.

But I'm confident he will rise to the occasion, particularly having the support of his very astute offsider, Graeme Norton, to offer advice.

There is also a fair amount of pressure on Bennett.

He copped plenty of criticism about the way the Broncos were playing towards the end of the NRL season. After reflecting on the type of game he encouraged through that period, I expect a totally different brand of football tomorrow.

Don't be surprised to see plenty of attack out wide in the first 10 minutes.

He will not want his side to get too involved in the middle of the park and I can also see plenty of dummy-half running from his smaller players.

This is an area where the Kiwis have been ordinary in the past - and where Bennett's Australians have been successful.

You can expect Bennett to try to exploit it again.

Kiwi success has come on the back of aggressive defence, a strong kicking game, a willingness to use the ball and plenty of mobility in the forwards.

Let's be honest, this is not the best side we could field but it will serve a purpose until the British part of the Tri-Nations when I believe we can come up with a team to win the damn thing.

But it does highlight the need for the NZRL to sort the international scene out once and for all.

As Bennett suggested in this column a few weeks back, soccer can work a system that allows their players to play international matches no matter which club side they are with. Why not league?