LIVERPOOL: Mal Meninga wants Australia to build on their legacy at next year's World Cup after admitting to being in "awe" of them in their Four Nations demolition of New Zealand.
"We're in awe of these guys. It's nice to be involved with them," Australia coach Meninga said after his side's 34-8 win in Sunday's one-sided final at Liverpool's Anfield stadium.
"They're building their own legacy. They're so consistent, so competitive and I can't fault them."
New Zealand, who just the week before had suffered an embarrassing draw with Scotland, were the holders and possessed the number one world ranking.
But they seemed destined to lose both once Blake Ferguson stormed over in the third minute.
He was followed over by Josh Dugan, who crossed twice, and Trent Merrin as a first-half onslaught ended with the Kangaroos up 24 points to the good.
Though they eased up a touch after the break, further tries from Darius Boyd and Boyd Cordner added a deserved sheen to the scoreline.
Meninga believes more history could be in the offing when the World Cup heads to the southern hemisphere next year, with Australia aiming for an incredible 11th title.
"It's nice to be back at number one," he said.
"Internally we don't talk about it, but it's nice to be back up there. The pressure's on us, but we're ready for that.
"I haven't seen too many better spines in the history of international rugby league. They always seem to turn it on when it matters.
"The players are ready to go again and apply themselves ahead of the World Cup. I hope they stay injury free and get ready to play for Australia again next year."
The Kiwis won the 2014 Four Nations thanks to an almost faultless display against the Kangaroos, but this performance in front of a 40,000-strong crowd at Anfield was strewn with errors.
While Jordan Kahu's second-half double ensured New Zealand saved face, it did not spare the players a dressing down from coach David Kidwell.
"We need to look at ourselves as a whole group," said Kidwell, who was promoted to the top job in September.
"It's a team game and it's not down to any single individual. We win as a team, we lose as a team.
"I've got 12 months to get it right and make sure we've got everything in place leading up to the World Cup and I'll be a lot more prepared then, given that I only had two weeks in the job.
"But I look forward to next year. I don't think this has any bearing on my future as coach. It's my first tour.
"I've definitely learnt a lot, but I've just said to the boys in there, we've got to get back our belief.
"It was the first-half errors that cost us. We just needed to get back into a decent completion rate. Seven errors in the first 20 minutes wasn't good enough."
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