They're the current World Cup and Four Nations rugby league champions, but New Zealand insist they aren't favourites ahead of this year's end-of-season tournament.
The Kiwis, who have also shirked the favouritism tag for Sunday's one-off Test match with Australia in Newcastle, baulked at a suggestion from Kangaroos halfback Johnathan Thurston that they're the team to beat.
"Not really, we're the champs but I see both teams as equal," New Zealand second-rower Alex Glenn told reporters on Wednesday.
"We've both got a lot of skill out on that field and a lot of talent and it's going to be a very good game."
On Tuesday, Thurston went as far as to say it would be disrespectful for anyone in the Kangaroos camp to think of Australia as rugby league's top dog.
"No doubt in my eyes, (New Zealand are) the number-one rugby league nation in the world," Thurston told reporters.
"I think if we thought we were, it would be disrespectful and we'd be kidding ourselves, actually."
Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney was quick to remind his troops of their most recent tour of England in 2009, where they were eager to assert themselves on the world stage once again having been crowned World Cup champions the previous year.
It ended in disaster, with Benji Marshall's men failing to even qualify for the final thanks to a 20-12 loss to England.
"That's nice of Thursto (but) for us, it's not about that," Kearney explained.
"The last time we went over to the UK, which was in 2009, we had a disappointing series. We got beat quite convincingly in the game at Huddersfield, so I look at the (current) English side and that without a doubt is one of the strongest English sides I've seen in quite some time.
"They've got a fair few NRL experienced guys in the side which I think is going to be a real bonus for them.
"I think the competition's going to be really tough actually. For us it's about setting a good platform on Sunday afternoon and going into the tournament with a little bit of confidence."
