Australian hooker Cameron Smith says his week with the Kangaroos has been a welcome distraction from the drama surrounding Melbourne's salary cap scandal.

Smith, who as Storm captain and one of the highest paid players on the club's books has become the face of the crisis, was glad football had regained priority ahead of Friday night's trans-Tasman Test against New Zealand at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

Nevertheless, Smith was again inundated by questions about the salary cap and the Storm's exclusion from this year's NRL premiership race at Thursday's final press conference ahead of the clash against the Kiwis.

"It's been a welcome breakaway from everything that's happened at the Storm," Smith said.

"It's good to be able to focus on playing for Australia.

"It's been quite hectic for the last 10 days (but) I'm feeling really good, I'm excited about playing tomorrow night."

Smith revealed the Australians would hold their final training run at AAMI Park on Thursday night in a bid to simulate match conditions.

Members from both the Australian and New Zealand camps, as well as Victorian Premier John Brumby, were given a tour of Melbourne's newest sporting facility on Thursday.

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