NSW aren’t the only ones feeling the brunt of Queensland’s State of Origin dominance, with New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney blaming his side’s 14-year drought in mid-season Tests on the Maroons’ run of success.

“If you look at the (Australian) side, particularly the last six or seven years, the majority of the team are Queenslanders who spend six weeks of the year together,” Kearney said on the eve of Friday’s rugby league Test against the Kangaroos at Eden Park.

“(Friday) night, you’ve got three players in key positions who play at club level together for a long, long time.

“When they come into camp, I dare say it would be everyone just knows what they’re doing straight away, whereas we’re trying to build that consistency in selection to hopefully really compete.”

There are 12 Queenslanders in Australia’s 17-man squad on Friday night, including six of the seven members of the backline.

New Zealand’s futility in the annual mid-year clash defies the common belief that they are closing the gap on Australia.

All of the Kiwis’ recent success over Australia has come in end-of-season tournaments, particularly finals – where they have had a chance to spend considerable time together in camp and on the training paddock.

But in the mid-season Test, their one and only win was in the inaugural match in 1998.

There’ve been some lop-sided scorelines too – with Australia twice racking up 50 points – while on four other occasions, the Kangaroos have won by more than 20 points.

The Kiwis might look to the fact their only win in the mid-season Test was one of just two times the match was played in New Zealand.

But home field advantage hasn’t helped in recent times, with the Kiwis winning just two of the past ten matches played in New Zealand since 1999.

Kearney admitted the pressure was on his side to perform, especially after a poor Four Nations campaign last year.

“Every time we come into camp, we have an expectation on ourselves,” Kearney said.

“The opportunity to play on home soil is another one.

“In front of a good crowd (on Friday) is another opportunity to show the path we’re taking.”