The women's RLWC final is a fight against fate

The women's Rugby League World Cup has ended up exactly where it was fated to be, with Australia to face New Zealand in the final for the third tournament in a row.

Barring the kind of upset that sends bookies broke, this was the only way it could be given the Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns have romped their way through with a near contemptuous ease.

Only Fiji, a delightful surprise packet in their maiden tournament who lost to New Zealand by six in the group stage and Australia by 16 in the semi-final, managed to run either of them close. The former is the only game of the World Cup to be decided by one score or fewer.

Even counting the valiant efforts of the Bulikula, Australia and New Zealand have outscored their opponents by a combined 272-20 and 182-24 respectively.

Fiji's emergence and Papua New Guinea and Samoa's continued development are positives but if the journey truly matters more than the destination this one has been a trudge.

It has felt inevitable from the start and perhaps it was. There could have been improvements to the draw — Australia had no business playing a team like Wales — but none that would have changed this outcome.

A tournament like this and a final like this, where Australia are deserved 20-point favourites given they've only lost to New Zealand once in the past ten years, is the wrong end of the double-edged sword women's rugby league is trying to wield.

The Jillaroos are the game's lone superpower, without peer or rival, because they are the end-product of almost a decade of transformation via the NRLW.

They play the same sport as developing nations, but they're in a different game to nations like Wales, France and Papua New Guinea.

There's a value in having a team that stands so tall because they're a gold standard to aspire to for some and a target to aim at for others.

They are proof of what is possible for women's rugby league with investment from the bottom up and the top down, as well as giving it the patience for that investment to rise to the top.

It makes the Jillaroos an incredible creation and victory on Sunday would confirm what most already know — that this is the greatest collection of talent in the history of women's rugby league.

Just as the 2017 final, the last before the start of the NRLW, signalled the beginning of a new kind of history so would a Jillaroos win here be the capstone on Australia remaking the game in their own image.

It would mark their fourth World Cup final win in a row, pulling them past New Zealand who currently have three with the last coming back in 2008.

Their dominance is a by-product of the game's progress but it's also so complete and smothering it's become a problem. The things that have made them great have worked too well.

Australia have moved so far and so fast not only is there nothing left for them to overtake, they can barely see New Zealand over their shoulders. They must keep looking though, because there is nobody else to see.

They are Everest and New Zealand are the only other team who have even been able to try to climb a mountain before. Everybody else is stuck at base camp.

As talented as their opponents are — and with Raecene McGregor at halfback, Mele Hufanga and Stacey Waaka in the centres and inspirational captain Georgia Hale leading a forward pack who could skin a crocodile their talent is considerable — just playing well is not enough for New Zealand to win.

They'll need an off night by the Australians, a few bounces of the ball, perhaps a referee call or two falling their way, just to bring them into the contest.

A win is possible, but it would be the greatest upset of this era and when the second-best team in the world needs a fair bit of luck to take it to the best, things have gotten way too top heavy.

Australia have taken giant strides while everyone else is trying to catch up with smaller steps.

The great-grandparent rule might help in the short-term if it allows more elite talent to filter through to other nations.

Any potential NRL investment in Super League would surely include a women's component and that would give the game in the northern hemisphere a boost it sorely needs.

Both moves would build on the progress of this World Cup, which has mainly come through in excellent television ratings even if the contests haven't been close.

But further development is required before there's any thought of a standalone World Cup, which will likely be tabled until 2034 at the earliest because it cannot happen until this game is for more than one player.

There are glories that lie outside ultimate victory and those can be easier to find once teams like Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea have more time to develop but when it comes to Australia that's a hard thing to remember.

They are the best by such a margin the rest are barely in sight, a grim fate they can confirm with glory on Sunday.