Australian Kangaroos

A 12-0 scoreline had the New Zealand faithful daring to dream at halftime and the fairytale final continued as the Kiwis ran in another 18 unanswered points to hand the Kangaroos their heaviest ever defeat.

Seven days after going down to their Tasman rivals 36-18 in Melbourne, Michael Maguire's side were all class with halves Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown steering the ship and wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jamayne Isaako dazzling on the edges.

Australia never trailed in the contest and after an opening 21 minutes in which the match ebbed and flowed, they always enjoyed a lead on the scoreboard, with a double from front-rower Lindsay Collins and the accurate boot of returning winger Valentine Holmes doing much of the damage at AAMI Park. 

While Australia were already 12-6 up when he entered the field in the 27th minute, Harry Grant was the man who kicked the Kangaroos up a notch when the game sat in the balance, while fellow Queenslander Patrick Carrigan was big off the bench too, carrying 16 times for 145 metres. 

With player of the match Payne Haas and fellow big man Tino Fa'asuamaleaui leading the charge the Kangaroos blew the game open before their rivals had time to settle.

The world champions opened their account in the fifth minute when Haas took a short ball from Isaah Yeo and carried three defenders over the tryline with him to make it 6-0.

Four minutes later it was skipper James Tedesco leaving Izack Tago in his wake on the left edge before Fa'asuamaleaui powered over in the 13th minute and the Kangaroos had a 16-0 lead.

Rookie Broncos quartet Selwyn Cobbo, Payne Haas, Thomas Flegler and Kotoni Staggs have been named for their first Kangaroos campaign alongside teammate Patrick Carrigan, while three-time premiership-winners Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin have once again been named in the squad.

The Panthers trio were all part of the Kangaroos' successful World Cup victory last November, with Meninga retaining 16 players in his Pacific Championships squad.

The rousing welcome reception that was accorded to the Australian teams upon their arrival yesterday was a real testament to the power of rugby league as a unifying sport bringing the two countries together for the first again in 5 years.

After the arrival of the Australian teams in Port Moresby yesterday, a combined media conference was held at the Stanly Hotel for all the captains and coaches.

The match is set to take place at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby, on Saturday, September 23.

The Men’s Prime Minister’s XIII will include eight representatives from the 2022 World Cup-winning Kangaroos squad, for the first Prime Minister’s XIII encounter in PNG since 2018.

The Women’s Prime Minister’s XIII has been selected with a view to giving some of the best up-and-coming players in the NRLW an opportunity alongside a number of established representative players including Kennedy Cherrington, Botille Vette-Welsh and Tallisha Harden.

Meanwhile Josh Reynolds reveals his reality TV dream, and Jamal Idris opens up about his religion.

Take a look at the social side of the game in NRL Confidential:

PARKER SHARES ROOS CHEAT SHEET

Corey Parker has leaked an old Australian team cheat sheet from one of the Kangaroos’ clashes with rival New Zealand.

Parker posted a photo of two sheets of paper, on which is a game plan devised to tackle the Kiwis in Wellington.

One side is for “offence” and the other for “defence”.

The premiership winning Melbourne Storm quartet of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Will Chambers all wore the Devils jersey, as did Broncos duo Josh McGuire and Matt Gillett.

Kangaroos squad member Ben Hunt has also played for Norths.

Australia will start as unbackable favourites in Brisbane after putting together four comprehensive victories, with their stout defence consistently shutting teams out – so much so that they have not conceded a second-half point for the whole tournament.

Tipped by many to run up a cricket score against the tournament minnows, the Aussies struggled for continuity in the first half, establishing a 10-0 lead at the break before they ran away with it in the final 10 minutes.