ONE 24-point result has left many fearing the Rugby League World Cup is a one-horse race, but another 24-point result is the very reason the Australians won't have any of that.

In 2005, the Australians were heavily favoured to win the Tri-Nations, when New Zealand stunned them 24-0 in the final at Leeds. It is a result that still spooks the Kangaroos.

"I've been in this position before, where we've been told we're the favourites, and all we've got to do is turn up and play and we'll win the game," prop Petero Civoniceva said.

"In 2005, we got our backsides kicked, when people were saying exactly the same things. That's always in the back of our minds. You never forget those moments. The plane ride home, coming out at Brisbane Airport, and the amount of press that was there, was something I'll never forget. That always burns in the back of your mind."

The Kangaroos' 30-6 victory over the Kiwis was an ominous sign for the tournament, even if the players aren't prepared to call a World Cup win just yet. But there were even more ominous signs; that being the Kangaroos can get a hell of a lot better.

There is a real, and understandable, feeling that the Kangaroos can only be beaten by themselves. Coach Ricky Stuart addressed the issue of complacency early last week and is likely to do so again as the Kangaroos approach their next clash, against an England outfit that was disappointing in its first-up effort against Papua New Guinea in Townsville.

"There's no complacency in the side," centre Israel Folau said. "We all had to work hard to get here first. All that sort of stuff, we don't really care about.

"It's not a walk in the park for us. If complacency creeps into our camp, that's when things will start to go downhill. We want to be the benchmark in the World Cup. That's what we're striving to do, and I'm sure if we keep working hard we'll get there."

Hooker Cameron Smith added: "Everyone's saying no one can beat us … we didn't want to go into the Cup thinking that way, thinking that we're the best team in the competition and it's going to be easy for us. We certainly don't believe that [the competition is a one-horse race], which we know is the most important thing. If one bloke or two blokes start thinking that, that's the start of the downfall for our tournament, I think."