"It's been a tough year for Australian rugby with the injuries and the pressure but I've been really happy with the way the guys who have come on board have responded," said Sharpe, who feels the Wallabies are putting the necessary systems in place to help them catch the All Blacks as the world's number one nation.
"That sets a good marker for Australian rugby going forward because when the incumbent players come back there's going to be pressure across the board.
"The All Blacks are in a period where they've got a lot of experienced players around. You don't win a World Cup without a grizzly team that's been around for a long time that's been through their share of heartbreak.
"What they are also doing is bringing in a lot of young guys and you can see they're doing a good job with that right through their system.
"But Australia is going to get to that point as well once we've settled on five States playing in the competition.
"As our depth increases you put structures in place which allows that development.
"There's no doubt about it, we have to cut our own path and see what works for us and to make it an even better system. Those works are in progress."
Sharpe will say goodbye to the professional game on his own terms this Saturday, a luxury he insists he is very grateful for.
His stellar career hasn't been ended by injury or prompted by a dip in form and he now hopes to sign off in style in the Wallabies' final encounter before Britain and Ireland's elite head Down Under next summer.
"A lot of my close mates in rugby didn't have the opportunity to say goodbye properly," added Sharpe.
"I've been able to do that with the Force and now with the Wallabies as well.
"If you had have said to me when I started my career that I'd be playing my last Test as captain of my country I wouldn't have believed you.
"If one of my teammates in the future is asked what I was like to play with, I'd hope they'd say he was a bloke who I wanted to play with and I wanted to play for. That would keep me happy."
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