New Zealand were good but Australia were just that little bit better in everything they did and their more established combinations gave them the edge.
They might have had a couple of new players, like controversial prop James Tamou, but they also have a number who have played a lot together at club, state and international level and it showed.
It allowed them to absorb and exert pressure and they invariably took the right options as Johnathan Thurston played the role of Darren Lockyer expertly.
In comparison, the Kiwis gave away soft penalties, made silly errors or kicked the ball out on the full just as it looked like they were grabbing the initiative. Teams can't afford to give Australia cheap sets and they took advantage.
"We were brave tonight but not smart enough,'' Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney said. "There were key moments in the game when we didn't take the right options. That was frustrating.
"Through the middle part of the second half I felt we had the momentum. But we didn't capitalise and let them off the hook too lightly when we were attacking their try line.''
They got one in the 12th minute when Issac Luke slipped over from dummy half after a sustained period of pressure but Australia were ahead 12-6 soon after when Johnathan Thurston danced past Adam Blair a minute after Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was penalised for holding down and Greg Inglis finished off a slick passage that looked straight off the Melbourne training ground.
One thing that didn't follow the script for Australia was when Billy Slater was sinbinned for a professional foul, when he took out the hard-working Alex Glenn when Glenn was bearing down on a deflected grubber. But even then Australia added points with a penalty on halftime.
Shaun Johnson put his side back in the contest six minutes after the restart when he snaffled a Cooper Cronk pass and raced 88m for his first international try. It was a good reward for the Warriors halfback, who had a rugged introduction to test football when he suffered a painful stinger to his shoulder inside the first minute, and he celebrated well before dotting the ball down.
"It was certainly a game of highs and lows,'' said Johnson, who also sported a number of cuts to his face. "The intercept try is something I will never forget. It was such a buzz to run it in but I didn't feel too good lying on the ground [in the first minute].''
The 22-year-old was impressive in his debut, like fellow debutants Josh Hoffman and Jesse Bromwich, and certainly more influential than his halves partner and skipper Marshall who was sometimes good but mostly poor.
New Zealand rely a lot on passion and Johnson's try, which closed the score to 14-12, gave them another lift. They tried to keep to their game plan to play the game at the right end of the field but just couldn't execute.
Australia, on the other hand did.
New Zealand are getting closer but still aren't close enough.
New Zealand 12 (Issac Luke, Shaun Johnson tries; Benji Marshall 2 gls) 20 (Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith tries; Thurston 4 gls). HT: 6-14.
