"What we have had this year in terms of opportunities has been outstanding," said coach Kristian Woolf. "We come in really, really well prepared for this game.
"We have had almost 2-weeks together now and coming off the back of a game and a performance we were really happy with last weekend certainly puts us in the best position we have been in."
The match against the Lions also demonstrated that the team has been galvanised by the dramas of the last few months, where a player mutiny effectively forced the reinstatement of Woolf, after he had been dumped by the Tongan board.
The clinical Kangaroos may be a bridge too far tonight, but Tonga is certainly gaining on the "big three". They have claimed the scalps of the Kiwis and Lions, and were close against England at the 2017 World Cup.
Such success will be self-perpetuating and encourage more young players to represent their country of heritage.
On reflection, their progression has been remarkable. In 2014, the year that Woolf was appointed, Tonga almost didn't play at all, before a invitation to play Papua New Guinea in Lae, with the Kumuls covering all the costs.
They lost 32-18, with a squad including Ben Murdoch-Masila and Sio Siua Taukeiaho.
Their only other games in the next two years were against Samoa (two losses) and Cook Islands (their only win).
But everything changed at the 2017 World Cup, after the high profile defections of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita, among others.
"It was always something that had the potential to happen," said Woolf. "We knew if we got all the best players playing for Tonga, we were going to compete with the best in the world.
"It's a credit to these guys, they are the ones making the sacrifice, [they] have made a commitment to playing for Tonga. It's not only done great things for Tonga, as a nation and a football team, but also the international game."
Between the 2013 and 2017 World Cups Tonga played only four games, and none against a tier one nation.
Tonight's game in Auckland will be their fifth of the cycle, and all but one have been against the established elite. That, and the adversity of the last few months, is what makes Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga wary ahead of the clash.
"They have developed a bond and the players have bought into the cultural piece and playing in that red jersey," he said yesterday.
"They have got that passion, that drive and desire and that's dangerous. We have to match that passion. They were extraordinarily good last week and played with so much passion. We have to prepare really well to match [them]."
