As with nearly every noteworthy rugby league tournament over the last three decades, Australia enters as scorching hot favourites. The Kangaroos are far from certainties, however, and those looking for value should side with the Kiwis.

These are not your father's Kangaroos, the Invincibles of '82 and the Unbeatables of '86, the brilliant teams chock to the brim with stars that won every World Cup between 1975 and 2000. The Australian team is different. So too is international rugby league.

Australia is missing a huge number of stars due to injury after a long and hard 2010 NRL campaign. The game's leading halfback, Johnathan Thurston, is on crutches and is not in the squad. There is a centre crisis in the team with Jamie Lyon, Greg Inglis, Josh Morris, Justin Hodges and Michael Jennings ruled out with injury and Israel Folau defecting to AFL. Skipper Darren Lockyer did not play the last four weeks of the season.

More importantly, however, international rugby league has changed. Over the last five seasons, it has again become an important element of the annual calendar. Major tournaments are staged almost every year and the result has been a significant closure in the gap between Australia and the rest of the field, with New Zealand leading the pack up.

Four major tournaments have been held since 2005 and New Zealand have claimed two, winning the 2005 Tri-Nations and the 2008 World Cup. The 2008 World Cup victory by New Zealand was a significant moment in the resurgence of international rugby league. It reinvigorated international competition, embedding confidence in the current New Zealand team and giving hope to other nations that Australia could indeed be beaten. David and Goliath tales became commonplace. The Kiwis did not become the big dogs by winning the 2008 World Cup but they won respect, like the new prisoner who lays out the biggest guy on his first day in the new yard.

Those who have memories of the Kiwis taking an annual thumping at the hands of the Aussies should scratch that from their mind. New Zealand haven't rolled Australia in the one-off Test since 1998 (the last time the match was played in New Zealand) with the average margin of defeat being an abhorrent 25.63 points over the last eight matches. The rain sodden 12-8 encounter this year was the only time the Kiwis have finished inside of 16 points since 1999, when Andrew Johns was playing hooker and someone called Sugar Ray sat atop the charts and none of us had ever had the misfortune of knowing about reality television.

Like anything to do with Big Brother, So You Think You Can Dance and The X-Factor though, the results of the Anzac Day Test can quickly be forgotten. They are meaningless in the context of the Four Nations. New Zealand routinely gets whipped. They lack the class to match it in a one-off contest with Australia. They rarely get their best Super League players back for the match. They never get to host.

The Kiwis, however, are a different team when it comes to tournament play. Since 2005, Australia and New Zealand have met nine times in tournament play. New Zealand have won three times including in two finals, Australia have won five times and there has been one draw. One of the Kiwis losses came in golden point while New Zealand have lost by 13-plus only once.

The Kiwis come to the dance when there is a prom queen to be crowned.

It is difficult to find too many holes in the Kiwi squad this time around. They have an in-form spine with Lance Hohaia, Benji Marshall and Nathan Fien all playing finals football, something none of the Australian spine can lay claim too, while hooker Issac Luke was the best dummy-half runner in the NRL this season. New Zealand have the three form wingers in behemoth Manu Vatuvei, should-have-been Churchill Medallist Jason Nightingale and top kick-returner Sam Perrett. The backrow quartet of Eastwood, Pritchard, Harrison and Mannering is the most dangerous in rugby league.

The Kiwis are also blessed to have a holy trinity of coaches with new Parramatta coach Stephen Kearney assisted by seven-time premiership winner Wayne Bennett and two-time premiership winner Craig Bellamy. It is the dream team of rugby league coaching.

Bennett was a key figure in assisting New Zealand win the 2008 World Cup.

TAB Sportsbet have put up $1.36 about Australia taking the Four Nations and $3.50 about New Zealand. There is no doubt the value lies with the Kiwis. They lift in these big tournaments and with players like Benji Marshall, Issac Luke and Manu Vatuvei to don the black they have more than enough class to take the Four Nations down.