Steve Deane: Kiwis can take pride in power-packed performance

"Bleh." So read a text message from a London-based mate who was at Twickenham Stoop for the Kiwis' impressive but ultimately disappointing draw against the Kangaroos.

Considering it's not actually a word, it summed up the post-match sentiment remarkably well.

There was so much to like about the Kiwis. They were as physically dominant as a Kiwis side has ever been against Australian opposition. They defended as though their lives, instead of just their livelihoods, depended on it, and attacked with verve, swagger and power. They deserved to win.

But deserving to win against the Kangaroos and actually doing so are two different things. Had the Kangaroos not had Greg Inglis and Jonathan Thurston in their ranks, the Kiwis would almost certainly have chalked up another famous victory.

But two moments of genius from Inglis and one from Thurston dug the Aussies out of a hole, the same way the likes of Darren Lockyer, Brett Kimmorley, Alan Langer, Mal Meninga and countless others have done in the past.

Genius is a difficult commodity to contain. That said, the Kiwis damn near did it - genius doesn't provide any immunity to the bash.

Yesterday's match was a draw that feels like a defeat because of the nature of the Kangaroos' last-ditch piece of brilliant burglary, but in many ways the result was irrelevant.

Win, lose or painful draw, the nature of the Kiwis' display was a terrific boon for league in this country. It proved once and for all that Stephen Kearney is the right man to coach the national side. He doesn't need Wayne Bennett to hold his hand, and possibly never did.

Kearney inspired his players to breathe fire and the Kangaroos wilted under the heat. Their bold pre-match bravado about avenging the World Cup final lasted about as long as it took a flying Fuifui Moimoi's shoulder to connect with Lockyer's ribs as the Kangaroos, after a kindly bounce from the kick-off, had forced the Kiwis immediately on to the back foot.

The Tongan-speaking Moimoi's shoulder sent a message, and it wasn't lost in translation.

Kearney clearly did a great motivational job, but his tactical approach and selections were also spot on. If the Kangaroos looked vulnerable anywhere it was up front, and that is where Kearney stacked his deck.

Adam Blair's selection at lock in a truly massive pack was a clear signal of how the Kiwis were going to play it.

Tim Sheens and the Kangaroos saw the big train coming but were powerless to do much about it. Blair was a beast, completely overshadowing opposite Anthony Watmough, as an expected edge in mobility failed to materialise for the Kangaroos.

Jarryd Hayne is fond of wearing colourful boots, but he might as well have slipped on loafers, so little ball did he see. The only flashy boots flashing around were Blair's blue beauties.

Two late switches worked a charm for Kearney. Frank-Paul Nuuausala started in place of Jeff Lima and charged on to a Blair short ball to score the opening try, while Thomas Leuluai, starting instead of Isaac Luke, put in a fine defensive stint with his side under the cosh for almost the entire first 20 minutes.

Kearney had his bench mix just right. Luke was a livewire after the settle-in period, and Jared Waera-Hargreaves belied his inexperience with an intimidating cameo when thrown into the fray.

Another rookie, Junior Sa'u, also impressed. Sa'u looked all at sea defensively against Tonga, but Kearney chose not to dump him overboard, leaving out Krisnan Inu instead. Sa'u responded with a fine display, including a blockbusting try to spark the second-half comeback.

Discipline is the one area Kearney will be concerned with. He preached the need for it after a ragged effort against Tonga but his words fell on deaf ears, with the Kiwis giving up seven penalties in the first 18 minutes.

That they managed to stay in the game was down to sheer effort, and the fact the Aussies were horribly rusty.

The Kangaroos will improve but so too should the Kiwis. Their next assignment is what can be an uncomfortable trip to France's league stronghold, Toulouse. But with the French pack likely to be hit by injury and suspension, Kearney should be able to rest a few key troops and still get a result.

Yesterday's draw would appear to put England in the box seat, with the home side now needing a single victory over Australia or New Zealand to reach the final. Forget about the maths, though. On the evidence of the first round of matches, the Poms are light years behind the Kiwis and Roos.

They'll certainly find out where they stand next weekend against an Australian side that will still be smarting from another touch-up at the hands of the Kiwis - the kind of touch-up that is becoming a pleasingly regular occurrence.

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Those who have long thought British television's league commentary team is particularly one-eyed are right. BSkyB have brought in some heavyweight assistance for long-time wafflers Mike "Stevo" Stephenson and Eddie Hemmings. Barrie McDermott, the former Great Britain prop now prowling one in-goal area, is blind in one eye. He played his entire career with impaired vision after being shot with an air rifle as a teenager.

Stationed at the opposite end of the field was McDermott's old GB propping mate Terry O'Connor. With Sean "Bomber" McRae providing the expert comments up in the box, BskyB's fondness for the larger gentleman seemingly knows no bounds. You certainly wouldn't fancy the chances of Hemmings, a sort of British Stephen McIvor, snaring the last sausage roll in the tearoom with that lot around.