Robbie Deans isn't celebrating a moral victory but the Wallabies have taken special pleasure in doing what no other team has done in eight years - denying the All Blacks a try.

Saturday night's 18-18 Bledisloe draw at Suncorp Stadium was the first time since 2004, when Australia beat them 23-18 in Sydney, New Zealand have been kept tryless in a Test.

The fact it's been 107 Tests since shows the enormity of the task against a ruthless outfit which prides itself on attacking prowess and clinical finishing.

A much-improved performance by the Wallabies at their happiest hunting ground restricted their arch-rivals to six Dan Carter penalty goals.

While Australia couldn't cross the line themselves - and looked less likely than the All Blacks - their gutsy defence, set-piece solidity and breakdown efficiency sorely frustrated the world champions into error and ill-discipline.

"To hold that All Blacks side is a significant achievement," said Deans, whose hold on his coaching job strengthened with the draw.

"The defence was great, we did a lot of work around the contact (area) and we got a lot of pay from that as well."

It was a marked improvement from the 27-19 and 22-0 losses in the opening two Bledisloe Tests in August where New Zealand dominated every facet of play.

"We definitely did improve and stopped them from playing," Deans said. "Essentially we gave them less access to the game and we also limited their play

"They didn't enjoy that."

All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw was gutted by the result, which denied his side a place in history by equalling the tier one record of 17 straight Test wins.

But he was more disappointed in their error-riddled display than the missed record.

"The thing you try and get right is the performance and that it gets better each week," he said. "That's what is most disappointing."

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen went as far to describe it as the ugliest game he'd been involved in but praised his side's tenacity to fight back from 15-6 down and almost steal the match with a Dan Carter drop goal in the 85th minute.

Carter also missed two penalty attempts in a six-from-eight goalkicking return while Kiwi-turned-Australian radarboot Mike Harris slotted five from five.

Deans, though, was just as pleased by Harris's positional play in his new role as custodian.

"You've got to turn the scoreboard over, and Mike does that very well - he loves that responsibility," he said. "What was impressive was the way he adapted to fullback."

Fellow rookie Ben Tapuai was also a key contributor which could see utility Adam Ashley-Cooper stay on the wing for the upcoming European tour.