For all the dominance of the All Blacks' wins against Argentina and South Africa, it's intriguing to imagine what could be possible for coach Ian Foster's side, once Sam Whitelock returns to the fold.
After a heroic display to play through injury and help steer the Crusaders to victory in Super Rugby Pacific last month, Whitelock has sat out New Zealand's Rugby Championship openers.
Not risked against Argentina and not needed against South Africa, Whitelock, 34, is yet to don the black jersey this year, as he closes in on Richie McCaw's record for the most-capped All Black.
In his absence, a genuine selection conundrum has arisen. Brodie Retallick is almost a guaranteed starter, when fit, while Scott Barrett's displays for franchise and country put him on similar grounds.
Before the season kicked off, moving Barrett into No.6 appeared to be a solution to fit the three world-class locks onto the field at the same time, but Shannon Frizell's display on Saturday night has all but closed that door, appearing to cement him as the go-to blindside flanker.
The dilemma is welcome for All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan, who has told Sky Sport's Breakdown that having too many options in a given position is exactly how it should be for a side as talented as the All Blacks.
While Whitelock may return for back-to-back fixtures against a wilting Australian side in the coming weeks, team selections will undoubtedly be a hot topic for all concerned.
"Sammy's coming along nicely now," said Ryan. "It did him the world of good to get the best work into his Achilles [as] possible.
"He's selectable, we know that. What we've shown is we've got depth in locks, there's genuine competition in this team right now.
"That's exciting. We had a catch-up this morning as selectors and there are some headaches.
"That's how it should be with the All Blacks. We're pretty happy with how things are progressing there."
They also have competition for other places across the park. With players like David Havili, Joe Moody and Ethan Blackadder still to return from injury, the All Blacks had a squad of 37 available for the opening two tests of the year, but will need to be trim to 33 before the World Cup in France.
That competition is driving the team forward.
"Guys are competing every day at training," said Ryan. "If they're doing that, they might get an opportunity in the black jersey - but there's no guarantees.
"We just keep chipping away."
The All Blacks face the Wallabies at Melbourne and Dunedin over coming weeks, before taking on the Springboks at Twickenham, as their final pre-World Cup hitout.
