Last year we saw the Kiwis take the crown, albeit a crown with an asterix. They won the Four Nations, but did so by defeating a depleted Kangaroos side who weren't exactly at the peak of their powers. Given how comprehensively the Kangaroos had defeated the Kiwis in the World Cup a year earlier and then you throw in last year's ANZAC test where you couldn't really come to any great conclusion, I'm going to call things just about even.

That's why the 2015 ANZAC test is such an intriguing prospect. Both nations have picked two very strong squads with the Kangaroos not loosing a great deal as Greg Inglis slides back to fullback to replace Billy Slater and Michael Jennings comes into centre; hardly a negative. It may look slightly different to recent Australian sides, but it's a nice combination of Australia's best who have served the green and gold jersey extremely well and blokes who are simply in form.

The Kiwis also boast a very strong squad, with a similar situation to the Kangaroos highlighting the changing scene. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has has his Kiwi debut taken from him as he serves a one week ban, but the days of kiwis across Aotearoa crying foul should be over. Calling up Jason Nightingale is far from a loss, he's a solid winger who does a great job in key areas for any winger; he scores tries and carts the ball forward bravely.

Us folk who write about sport like storylines and this ANZAC test signals a Kiwis team who are making progress. They have options, they have good players in key positions and they have a few of the NRL's best who if they aren't approaching their peak years, they are only at the beginning of those years. The Kangaroos are transitioning with a group of veterans who double as some of the greatest to ever play and younger players who will form the core of their side for the next 10 years. Finally, these little stories seem to have reached some sort of common ground instead of the Kangaroos being the bomb while the Kiwis fluff around looking for an upset.

We're going to be graced with the game's best props, which is always a great sight. There's no doubt in my mind that Jesse Bromwich is the best prop in the NRL and his partnership with Ben Matulino for the Kiwis is going to produce plenty of excitement, while holding true to their old school propping duties. They each love to put on a bit of footwork late at the line as well as squeezing out plenty of offloads. This will be a key attacking weapon for the Kiwis as the likes of Issac Luke, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Shaun Johnson will be sniffing around for any sort of go forward or quick play the ball.

Power and speed, that's the Kiwis style these days which starts with props who can hold their own, yet spark their team into action. I reckon that Bromwich and Matulino are the perfect props for this team and it will be interesting to see how the bench players are rotated on to the field. Could we see Martin Taupau come on as a third middle forward? Seeing his power in tandem with Bromwich and Matulino would be lethal for the Kiwis while Sam Moa and Greg Eastwood offer plenty in attack as well.

Matt Scott and Aaron Woods are slightly different, but excellent nonetheless. They both also offer an offload, but their game plan will be to work their team to specific areas on the field to allow their play makers the chance to put on structured plays. There's less speed and footwork here, but they'll just look to make a few metres and get a decent play the ball as opposed to try and really speed the game up. Obviously every team wants quick play the balls, but when you compare Cameron Smith to his opposite in Luke, they play quite different with Smith being less dynamic.

A few solid metres and a reasonable play the ball will give the Australian halves the time needed to work their magic. It's going to be a battle of styles as I think the Kiwis will look quite similar to the Rabbitohs at their peak, with Luke being the obvious common factor. Think of Luke scooting out of dummy half on the back of a Bromwich run or even an offload with RTS bursting through the middle.

The Kangaroos have their typically gritty forward pack that we've seen plenty of over the years and they are uber efficient at doing their jobs. You're going to see a Kangaroos side looking to execute their plays to near perfection, while the Kiwis try to spice things up a wee bit.

Any time I see Greg Inglis in a rep jersey I get excited because I know he won't sit out in the centres waiting for the ball to come to him. We've been robbed of some creative plays with him moving to fullback, but it'll still be very interesting to see how he is used. He's equally as dangerous roaming around the middle of the field as he is swinging around out the back in a second man play. But the key will be his use as a decoy. With Jonathan Thurston in vintage form and Cooper Cronk one of the game's best, they don't need much extra time and space to slice open the defence. With Inglis lurking out the back, the Kiwi defenders could be guilty of giving him slightly too much attention, which will be fatal.

The battles out wide will be crucial as both teams will target these areas, with the Kangaroos always dangerous hitting Sam Thaiday or Greg Bird in various plays. The Kiwis finally have two fine edge back rowers in Tohu Harris and Kevin Proctor who can handle the physical play of their opponents and have plenty of skill as well. It's going to be gritty out on those edges.

Especially gritty for someone like Peta Hiku who is going to be heavily tested defensively in the centres. He's shown that he can pretty much do anything in the NRL and I'm sure the Kangaroos will send many different bodies his way, especially if he's defending alongside Shaun Johnson.

I'm going to completely ignore defence, it's not fun so I'll finish with the Kiwi halves. We know what to expect from Thurston and Cronk but Johnson and Foran aren't exactly in career best form. But for mine, neither Foran or Johnson have to do too much as the Kiwis have firepower galore. They don't need Johnson to spark things when you have RTS or Luke and their footwork and power, but they need both their halves to offer clinical half play.

That's what we're going to see from the Kangaroos, not only from their halves but their team in general. The Kangaroos could get away with Thurston and Cronk not quite being at their best, because they've done the job so often that they know what to do if things aren't quite going their way. But the Kiwis will only win if they can go blow for blow with the Kangaroos in the grind and keep them coming off their own try line which involves a great long kicking game and earning many repeat sets with accurate short kicks. The likes of Bromwich, Matulino, Luke etc are much better around halfway, not their own 10 metre line thanks to a sloppy kicking game.

Who will win? Who knows, just enjoy the show because rugby league is great.