Greatness was being bestowed on the Australia side that has spectacularly cruised through the World Cup well before Saturday's final here against New Zealand. In a city battered by cyclonic tropical storms that have wreaked havoc across south east Queensland, the Kangaroos are seen as an immovable object, with a seventh successive world title since 1975 regarded as little more than a formality.

History will judge the present crop of Kangaroos, but in Greg Inglis and Israel Folau, the wonderfully athletic centre pairing, Billy Slater, the full back who was this week named international player of the year, and the midfield triangle of the peerless Darren Lockyer, Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith, Australia’s dynamism is more apparent than at any time since Mal Meninga’s Australia were cutting a swathe through opponents in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Ricky Stuart, a member of Meninga’s Kangaroos dynasty, who has guided Australia to 12 wins in his 13 matches as coach, is not one for comparing eras, but said: “What I’m seeing is simply outstanding talent. Individually, they are some of the best players to have played for Australia, but what’s gone before in this tournament will mean nothing if we don’t finish the job off in the final.”

Stuart’s ruthless streak has been a key component of his team’s crushing of New Zealand, England and Papua New Guinea in the pool stage and Fiji in the semi-finals, during which they conceded only three tries and scored 180 points. No side has looked even competitive against them, while the 52-4 thrashing of England was widely regarded as the finest performance by an Australia team since Meninga’s 1994 Kangaroos carved Britain apart at Old Trafford.

“It’s hard to keep your head on your shoulders when told every week you’re going to win by a large scoreline, but these players have,” Stuart said. “They’ve a lot of pride in the jumper and I’ve been proud to be involved with such a group. I’ve had quite a laid-back approach to the camp and that has been because of the players’ professionalism.

“I give a lot of credit to the other coaches in the NRL, because when these players come in they know what is expected of them. They have a great attitude in training. In the short time I’ve been involved with representative sides, I haven’t seen a group bond so quickly.” Significantly, two veterans of the side know what it is like to lose. Petero Civoniceva, the prop, and Craig Fitzgibbon, who is on the bench, were in the team beaten by New Zealand in the 2005 Tri-Nations final at Elland Road.

“It hurt a lot and we don’t want to be that team again,” Fitzgibbon said. “Every time you play in the green and gold there’s a standard that you have to uphold. The players before us and the players over the last 100 years for Australia have set that standard and they’ve set it really bloody high.”

Australia: B Slater; J Monaghan, G Inglis, I Folau, D Williams; D Lockyer (captain), J Thurston; P Civoniceva, B Kite, S Price, G Stewart, A Laffranchi, P Gallen. Interchange: K Hunt, C Fitzgibbon, A Tupou, J Perry.

New Zealand: L Hohaia; S Perrett, S Mannering, J Ropati, M Vatuvei; B Marshall, N Fien; N Cayless (captain), T Leuluai, A Blair, D Fa’alogo, B Harrison, J Smith. Interchange: I Luke, G Eastwood, S Rapira, S Manu Referee: A Klein (England).