I tried to do the whole "pick a complete other Australian side better than the one picked". I think Smith, Cronk and Thurston give the current side an advantage and are hard to replace, but other than that I think the side below would give them a good run for their money. I tried to pick "on form" mostly, and only counted the 1-17 for the Aus side out, so I could still pick Maloney and Boyd.
1. Slater
2. T. Trbojevic
3. Gagai
4. Leilua
5. Tedesco
6. Maloney
7. DCE
8. Fifita
9. McCullough
10. Vaughan
11. McGuire
12. Graham
13. J. Trbojevic
14. Prior
15. James
16. Boyd
17. Bird
I reckon this side pounds the current Oz side in the forwards, and has better, in form outside backs. So really, if you could just add Thurston and Smith to this side it is better than the Oz side, IMHO.