THE Kangaroos may be favourites for a 14th consecutive victory under Mal Meninga, but the Kiwis have an advantage in experience that could sway the Test in their favour.

The clash at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday marks a changing of the guard for Australia, with Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston retiring from rep footy since last year’s World Cup.

A look at the Test matches played for both teams reveals the Kiwis have nearly one hundred more games of Test match experience.

New Zealand has a total of 202 Tests among their 19 man squad, while Australia has only 111 Tests of experience.

Adam Blair will be the most experienced man on the field if he runs on for his 46th Test match, while the next most is Shaun Johnson with 25.

The six most experienced Test players in the two squads are all Kiwis, with Jesse Bromwich and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves both (24), Marty Taupau (21) and Kevin Proctor 17 rounding out the top six.

The most experienced players in the Kangaroos’ squad are skipper Boyd Cordner (16) and props David Klemmer and Aaron Woods having played 15 Tests each.

The Kiwis also have the edge in debutants, with Joseph Manu and Jahrome Hughes the only squad members not to play a Test.

The Kangaroos have five players in line to debut in James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, Luke Keary, Damien Cook and Tyrone Peachey.

Whatever the final make-up of the sides, the Kiwis are set to have an overwhelming advantage in experience and it might just be the catalyst for a shock upset against the World Champions.

SATURDAY
New Zealand Kiwis v Australia Kangaroos at Mt Smart Stadium, 5.45pm AEST
Player Milestones
— This will be just the second Test Australia play without Cameron Smith since he made his debut in 2006 and first since the 2009 Four Nations match against France. It will be the first time the Kangaroos face New Zealand without Cameron Smith since the 2006 mid-year Test.

— At 23 years and 57 days, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak will become the youngest Kiwi captain since Kieran Foran captained the 2013 mid-year Test against Australia, aged 22 years, 280 days.

— Boyd Cordner is the first New South Welshman to captain Australia since Danny Buderus did so in the 2005 Tri Nations Finals. Australia has played 58 Test Matches since that time.

— Adam Blair will play his 46th Test for New Zealand moving into equal second spot for most test caps alongside both Stacey Jones and Gary Freeman and trailing only Ruben Wiki who played 55 Tests.

— Shaun Johnson requires two goals to equal Matthew Ridge (71 goals) as the all-time leading goal kicker for New Zealand.

Coaches
— Mal Meninga has won all 13 of his matches in charge of Australia, with his team yet to concede 20 points, conceding on average just 6.2 points per game.

— The most they have conceded in a match was 18 against England in the 2016 Four Nations.

— Meninga is the only Australian coach on record to win his first 13 matches in charge and is currently third on the list for most consecutive wins as coach of Australia behind Frank

Stanton (18 straight from 1979-1984) and Tim Sheens (16 straight from 2011-2014).

— Michael Maguire is aiming to become just the fifth New Zealand coach in the post-war era (1945-2018) to win his first match against Australia behind Brian McClennan (2005), Tony Gordon (1987), Des White (1961) and Scotty McClymont (1949). Howard Tamati had a draw in his first match against Australia in 1993.

Kiwis
— After a poor World Cup, which saw the Kiwis win just two of four matches, including losses to Tonga and Fiji and another mid-year loss to England in Denver, the Kiwis are staring down the barrel of four straight losses for the first time since, 2011-13.

— Three of the four losses in the 2011-13 streak came against Australia, with the other

coming against England.

— After playing 11 straight Tests outside of New Zealand from 2015 until mid-2017, this will be the fifth time in the past six Tests the Kiwis have played at home. After their World Cup losses to Tonga and Fiji, the Kiwis are now facing three straight losses in New Zealand for the first time since losing six straight from 1988-90.

— New Zealand went three matches without a win there from 1992-93, losing two and drawing one.

Kangaroos
— Australia has won 46 of its 52 Test matches since the beginning of 2007, with all six non-wins coming against the Kiwis (five losses and one draw). The most recent of which came in the mid-year Test in 2015, with New Zealand winning 26-12 at Suncorp.

— The Kangaroos are currently on a 13-match winning streak, their longest winning streak since winning 16 in a row from 2011-2014.

— In this 13-match winning streak they have outscored opponents 420-80.

— Since losing the 2005 Four Nations final to New Zealand in England, the Kangaroos have lost just one of 23 Tests (with one draw) played outside of Australia. Their only loss coming in Wellington in 2014 against the Kiwis, with the draw also coming against the Kiwis at Twickenham in 2009 Four Nations tournament.

Head to Head
— Played 135, Australia 100, New Zealand 32, Drawn 3.

— Australia has won its past five and 13 of its past 16 matches against New Zealand with the only losses coming in three consecutive matches, with the Kiwis winning the two Four Nations matches in 2014 (including the final) and the 2015 mid-year Test.

— In 12 of their past 13 wins against the Kiwis, the Kangaroos have conceded 12 points or

less, the only exception coming in their 30-18 win in the 2014 mid-year Test.

— In their current five match winning streak the Kangaroos have outscored the Kiwis 120-34.

— With these two teams not meeting at the World Cup last year, their last match against each other came in May 2017. This is the longest period of time the Kangaroos and Kiwis haven’t played in a Test match since they didn’t play each other in both the 1996 and 1997 seasons due to the Super League battle.