In an unguarded moment on television at halftime, Australia halfback Johnathan Thurston told the BBC: "Hopefully we can run away with it".
But as much as New Zealand and their fans would like to have characterised the comment as arrogance, any dispassionate assessment of the opening 40 minutes would have reached the same conclusion.
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Kangaroos hold on despite Johnson magic
A dominant performance from Australia was almost undone by some Shaun Johnson wizardry in Coventry.
Mal Meninga's Four Nations favourites had scored only two tries, to winger Blake Ferguson in the 10th minute and North Queensland's Thurston in the 14th, but their imperiousness was impossible to deny.
The Kiwis' only chance had come when Jordan Rapana had snatched an intercept near his own line, only to be spectacularly ankle-tapped near halfway by Greg Inglis.
Both tries had smacked of precision. The World Cup holders eschewed a penalty goal before Sydney Rooster Ferguson calmly latched onto the end of a deadly backline to cross just inside the corner-post. Thurston started the second try-scoring movement before Michael Morgan's flick and Ferguson's run allowed him to finish it.
But for a long time after halftime, in front of a sparse double-header crowd that peaked at 21,009, the game sort of died.
Kiwis centre Solomone Kata scored eight minutes after the resumption of play, Thurston responded with a penalty goal or two and Canberra's Rapana crossed in the final three minutes, giving them a sniff of a draw.
And then, out of nowhere, halfback Shaun Johnson launched himself at the tryline five seconds from fulltime - and was held up.
It's interesting that Wayne Bennett showed an interest in international rugby league after Australia humiliated Great Britain 64-10 in 2002 at what is now Allianz Stadium. "RIP International Rugby League" read the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Origin was seen as giving the green and golds an unfair advantage and the mid-season Test moved to earlier in the calendar. Not that he meant to do so, but Bennett gave international rugby league it's biggest shot in the arm when he presided over the 2005 Tri-Nations.
Bennett then helped New Zealand win its first World Cup to go with Four Nations titles, giving rise to the current "cultural revolution" under which the Australians believe that by being rugby league's version of the All Blacks, they can revive international game just by being very good on the field and very humble off it.
But to be a team that transcends the sport in the way the Harlem Globetrotters transcended basketball, the Kangaroos probably need to play like them. Commentator Dave Woods opined of Australia "sometimes they're so good, it's boring"
Based on the form shown by the big three at this Four Nations, we could seen a sizeable scoreline next Saturday when Australia plays England at the Olympic Stadium. And despite everything that has happened since, perhaps partially as a result of a fuzzy 'corporate memory', we'll be right back where we started.
AUSTRALIA 14Â (Blake Ferguson, Johnathan Thurston tries; Thurston 3Â goals) beat NEW ZEALAND 8Â Â (Solomone Kata, Jordan Rapana tries) at Ricoh Arena, Coventry. Referee; Ben Cummins (Australia). Crowd: 21,009.