League: The Kangaroo court

It's not often Australians tip their cap in acknowledgement of success in New Zealand league - just look at Mark Geyer and Phil Gould - but our transtasman neighbours are starting to wake up to the current Kiwis side.

Former Kangaroos coach Gould said in the lead-up to the second Tri-Nations test that Australia were 30 points better than the Kiwis (a game that finished 28-26) but league personalities Peter Sterling, Tommy Raudonikis and Glenn Lazarus have noticed something different this year.

It's not to the extent that the planets have shifted, because all three still think Australia are favourites to retain their Tri-Nations title, but they do see New Zealand as genuine title contenders.

"I'm very impressed by what I've seen in the Kiwis side and in their coach," Sterling said. "I think it's wonderful for international rugby league because I'm one of these people who don't think State of Origin jerseys should be worth more or more desired than a test jersey.

"The big test for the Kiwis is how they cope without Stacey Jones for the rest of the series. He might not have been scoring 50m tries but the Kiwis enjoy his direction, his influence and just the fact he's there."

Jones has withdrawn from the squad to join up with French Super League club Perpignan before travelling back to New Zealand for the birth of their third child.

"The one area they also need to clean up if they are to beat Australia again is keeping them under 20 or 24 points," Sterling said. "They have shown they can score points but defensively they were pretty poor last weekend against Great Britain and they are going to have to be better than that against Australia.

"But Australia are as vulnerable as they have been for a long time," Sterling added. "They're in a transitional stage, without the likes of Shane Webcke and Andrew Johns, and Petero Civoniceva and Steve Price don't have a lot of time left. This is a good time for other nations to take advantage of the fact there is a bit of a turnover of players and if the Kiwis want to change the way of thinking of some people [who write them off over here], then winning the Tri-Nations would be a huge boost to their credibility."

Raudonikis agreed they will miss Jones but points out that one area the Kiwis have it over the Kangaroos is the "fear factor".

"Although the fear factor has gone out of league from my day, blokes like Ruben Wiki and Paul Rauhihi have more muscle and aggression [than Australia]," said the former Wests player and coach who has been described as the 'patron saint of fisticuffs'. "Who in the Australian front row are you going to be scared of? Not Jason Ryles, who's ordinary.

"I think the Australians are still entitled to be favourites because they are defending champions but the Kiwis have a chance. I think Wayne Bennett has gone soft in his approach because a few of the blokes in his side are over the hill."

While Lazarus has been impressed by the obvious pride the Kiwis have played with and said the Kangaroos have "not been overly impressive", he did have a word of caution for Kiwi supporters.

"We've often had our backs against the wall and won," he explained.

"Last year the Pommies were supposed to give Australia more trouble but they got smashed. It's a situation we have been in before, when other teams get excited about their chances, only for Australia to pull through in the end."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY