"I went down there earlier in the year, they were working hard.
"It's a good young group coming through and you've seen them improve with each outing.
"There was a game there for them to have in Dunedin last time but it starts again, they've got to front again.
"If they have enough belief, care about each other enough [and] they play some good footy, they're in with as good as a chance as the All Blacks."
Thorn never knew what it was like to lose the Bledisloe Cup, having started his test career in 2003 - the year New Zealand's 15-year unbeaten streak began.
He ranked it as the second-most important trophy in the game, behind only the World Cup.
"I remember talking to Dan Carter about that, we were ranking that sort of stuff," he said.
"It's good to win the Rugby Championship - I think that's what it's called still - but the Bledisloe, there's something special about tucking that away.
"You saw the Irish beat the All Blacks in Chicago, you saw the [Richmond] Tigers in the AFL hadn't won a grand final [for 37 years].
"When a Wallaby team gets that shield back at some stage - and they definitely will - that will be a great moment.
"It's a pretty cool feeling when you raise that cup up and sip some lemonade or whatever out of it."
