They have lost their aura (Tim Horan); their supporters hate them (Nick Farr-Jones); they are still scarred by the World Cup loss and should have sacked their coaches (John Eales).
And, of course, there is the Robbie Deans factor with the Wallabies.
Coach Graham Henry's team slipped quietly into Sydney on Thursday night under as much scrutiny as ever, ahead of one of the most eagerly-awaited Bledisloe Cup tests in recent memory.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper's take on the general feeling left little doubt yesterday morning.
"Almost on cue, the arrogant All Blacks arrived in town, clinging to their faded reputation by refusing to speak after touching down."
The All Blacks have not won any popularity contests but will run on to ANZ Stadium in front of 80,000 people tomorrow as Australian bookmakers' favourite, $1.60 to the Wallabies' $2.25.
They lost their world No 1 ranking with the 28-30 loss to the Springboks in Dunedin a fortnight ago, while the Wallabies' stocks rose with a 16-9 win over South Africa in Perth a week later to extend Deans' record to four from four.
Respected former Wallabies have been in full voice, with Horan, Farr-Jones and Eales offering plenty of media fodder this week even if the players and coaches from both sides were doing their best not to.
A relaxed, upbeat Deans sought to add some sanity to the All Black bashing yesterday.
"It depends who you're talking to and I guess it's easy from the other side of the chalk," Deans said.
"You've only got to look at their [the All Blacks'] performance history, and you could argue their performance history in recent times is superior to anything that's ever been."
That's putting aside the small matter of the 2007 World Cup, which both sides have tried to forget after quarterfinal exits.
Since then the Wallabies appointed Deans and signalled a fresh approach after the All Blacks overlooked Deans, retained their coaches and farewelled key forwards Carl Hayman and Jerry Collins.
Talk of the All Blacks losing their aura, of teams no longer being terrified of their haka, was given some balance by Deans, who rated his team "excited, but not daunted", with the ultimate goal of being world No 1.
"They're going into a genuine challenge. They're up against one of the best, if not the best, rugby side in the world.
"They're aware of that but that also excites them. They aspire to become that and it's a great opportunity on the weekend to stake a claim to that sort of respect."
The All Blacks have won six of the past seven Bledisloe Cup tests but the Wallabies have a solid record at tonight's venue, having won five of the eight transtasman tests there since 1999.
The All Blacks won the last meeting in Sydney, 30-13 in 2005.
Both sides have key losses, with respective captains Richie McCaw (ankle) and Stirling Mortlock (concussion) watching from the sidelines, a factor Eales said would cancel each other out given their respective impacts.
The All Blacks welcome back Brad Thorn from the Dunedin defeat to add some starch up front, while Daniel Braid returns to the black No 7 for the first time in five years with the big task of quelling a powerhouse Wallabies loose trio - headed by captain George Smith - at the breakdown.
All Black kingpin Dan Carter will face off against his mentor Deans for the first time after some imperious recent form.
Deans admitted with a grin he had "some ideas" on how to shut Carter down, but whether they were effective was another matter.
Despite the Wallabies' bruising win in Perth last weekend, Deans felt the Springboks were ripe for the beating, weary after two successive All Blacks tests and a long flight.
"Even though we got what might be deemed to be a perfect result last week it wasn't a perfect performance. The All Blacks will have seen a lot of scope, a lot of opportunity, and they'll be looking to profit from that."
