Despite falling at the final hurdle to New Zealand in this year's Sydney Sevens final, Australia are building the confidence and belief needed to win a sevens gold medal at the Rio Olympics, according to coach Andy Friend.
New Zealand - as they have done for so many years - yet again inflicted a psychological blow to Australia as Rieko Ioane scored a try after the siren to clinch a 27-24 win in front of 37,095 fans at Allianz Stadium. 
Before this series Australia were seventh in the world standings, but a string of auspicious performances - culminating in the final - means they have jumped to fourth behind Fiji, South Africa and New Zealand who are all tied for first.
The Thunderbolts clinched a golden-point 17-12 win over England in the quarter-finals before scrapping to a 12-7 victory against South Africa in order to set up a salivating final against New Zealand.
Not only did their performances make other nations take notice of them but they also filled their boots with self-belief; something Friend believes is imperative heading into the Rio Olympic Games in   August.
"Ideally we want to be competing for a gold or silver medal in one of these competitions and if you can do that [make a final] you know you can do it in seven months time [in Rio] so I think it's really important," Friend said.
It was Friend's first weekend in complete charge of the Australian side and in the build-up he made the tough decision to tell Quade Cooper he would not feature in the inaugural sevens event in Sydney. Friend was prepared to cop any criticism on the chin should Australia not improve on their fluctuating performances of late, but the fact he has stuck by a core group of sevens specialists is proof that an injection of razzle-dazzle from players in the 15-man code might not be necessary.
"Yeah, massively," said Friend when asked whether he thought the weekend was a success. "I think it's good for Sydney and for the team. I think it [winning] is just giving the boys a lot of confidence. We've gone a few better now [than last week at Wellington Sevens]. I think that confidence is really important. They're getting belief in what they're doing."
Australian captain Ed Jenkins, whose relentlessness at the breakdown was noted throughout Sunday, especially in the final, made the call he and his teammates had not yet reached their potential as they look to improve their skills in arguably the most important year ever for the sevens code.
"It's [a] successful weekend, but I don't think we've played our best footy yet," Jenkins said. "I thought we scrambled really well and the guys dug deep. I thought under pressure there we came through with some of the other guys showing their experience which really helped. It's across the whole board that guys have really stood up."
Henry Hutchison scored Australia's first two tries in the final, to go with another two five-pointers against England which proved the difference between playing for fifth or first.
"I had the ability to find that last bit of effort in me and get the last try to seal the deal against the Poms," Hutchison said. "It's probably the most nerve-wracking game out of all of them because if you lose that you're down into the shield."
A semi-final date with South Africa tested the Thunderbolts in front of a pulsating crowd at Allianz Stadium. They led 12-0 at the break before conceding an early try in the second half, but showed a level of resolve not seen in recent tournaments to hang on by five points.