Cameron Smith on Four Nations mission to put Kangaroos at the top

The Australia captain wants a win against New Zealand in Sunday’s final to change perceptions of the international game at home

The results may remain the same but there is a distinctly different feel to this Australia side compared with those who have toured here in the past. Victory against New Zealand in the Four Nations final on Sunday would be nothing new for a team accustomed to sweeping aside all before them but, as the Kangaroos’ captain, Cameron Smith, admits, there is a growing desire to change the perception of Australian rugby league’s view of the international game.

Related: Four Nations final: Australia looking to reassert itself against New Zealand

Ever since Mal Meninga pulled on his green and gold polo shirt as coach for the first time earlier this year the message has been simple – to put international competition back at the top of the agenda in Australia. Smith, a staunch internationalist and one of the game’s undisputed greats, says the Kangaroos’ task these days is now twofold: winning is the priority but showing that international rugby usurps State of Origin as the pinnacle of the sport is just as crucial.

“Mal has put a set of values down he thinks we should believe in and what the Kangaroos should stand for,” Smith says. “From the public’s point of view back home in Australia, they’ve seen State of Origin as the pinnacle. Some of the younger guys maybe had a perception that Origin would be the highest accolade you could have in our game but Mal has wanted to put the international game back to where it needs to be.”

That Smith is so open about it makes the point indisputable: international rugby league had, as many people feared, slipped down the pecking order. “Everywhere else it’s been No1 forever but because we have State of Origin we have to show that playing for the Kangaroos is the pinnacle,” he adds.

It is clear the fire still burns brightly inside Smith – his battle cry to the nation says as much. Fellow greats like Johnathan Thurston have already earmarked their international swan-song for next year but for the 33-year-old captain there is no fixed date in place yet as he prepares to lead his country in a major final once again.

“Playing and being around the team and playing in great stadiums and having victories, it’s still as enjoyable as when I started back in 2006,” he says. “I’m still excited to get a jersey and have my name read out at the start of each week when Mal names the team. I still feel great. I’m as fit as I’ve ever been in my whole career.”

There have been countless clashes with New Zealand in finals in the past – they met in the World Cup final three years ago at Old Trafford. But with another World Cup looming – and the added incentive of the winner of Sunday’s game at Anfield becoming the No1-ranked side in the world – Smith is typically forthright about what victory in the Four Nations would represent.

“Winning this weekend would send that message out back home saying to people: ‘Look guys, this is what we are – the No1 team and a team that wins,’” he acknowledges. “The younger guys in the squad have jumped on board with it. It’s now about sending that message out back home about what this all means. Nothing beats it.”