KEY POINTS:
Kiwis coaches Stephen Kearney and Wayne Bennett have told their players they won't tolerate a second consecutive World Cup fizzer tonight.
Coming off a comprehensive 30-6 loss to Australia which took the wind from their sails, the Kiwis face a Papua New Guinea side everyone expects them to
beat, but have the potential to make them look silly.
While the heat is on halves combination Thomas Leuluai and Benji Marshall, all players are on notice with England looming the following week, and the semifinals to follow.
Kearney rejected any thoughts Leuluai's place was under threat.
"It's a crunch game for everyone. The circumstances we find ourselves in, when you play the current world champions first and you're in this predicament in the second week," Kearney said.
"I expected a bit more out of everyone [against Australia]. The players expected more and we were certainly disappointed. But that was five days ago and we're thinking about what we need to do to get it right."
Australia's TAB Sportsbet has it a one-horse race, with the Kiwis at $1.01 and the Kumuls at $13, which will delight their ever-growing army of supporters in the wake of their creditable 32-22 loss to England.
Kearney said the focus this week was on recovery from a bruising encounter against Australia.
It was also about regaining confidence, not being lulled into holiday mode in their plush surroundings and not being lured into the Kumuls' helter-skelter brand of football.
Skilled Park is an impressive venue and the ground is hard and fast, with a maximum temperature of 29C forecast.
"We've identified areas we think will be effective for us. I thought PNG spooked England into playing a bit sideways and I've made the lads well aware of that," Kearney said.
"They're a real physical, confrontational side and we haveto make sure we're up for that kind of game."
Coach Adrian Lam said he would give his confident side permission to "go berserk" and party all week on the Gold Coast if they produced a boilover.
The Kumuls led England at halftime last week in Townsville but fell away late in the match and missed plenty of tackles.
Captain Nathan Cayless said Kearney and Bennett laid down the law this week.
"We let ourselves down and we let our country down. We need to turn that around and we get a good opportunity to do that."
Kiwis v PNG
Skilled Park, 10 tonight
Kiwis:
Lance Hohaia
Sam Perrett
Krisnan Inu
Jerome Ropati
Manu Vatuvei
Benji Marshall
Thomas Leuluai
Nathan Cayless (c)
Nathan Fien
Adam Blair
Simon Mannering
Setaimata Sa
Jeremy Smith
Interchange: Issac Luke, Greg Eastwood, Sam Rapira, David Fa'alogo.
PNG:
John Wilshere (c)
George Kepa
Jesse Joe Parker
Tu'u Maori
David Moore
Stanley Gene
Keith Peters
Makali Aizue
Paul Aiton
Trevor Exton
Neville Costigan
J. Nightingale
Rod Griffin
Interchange: Rodney Pora, George Moni, Jason Chan, Charlie Wabo, Jay Aston, Nicko Slain, Anton Kui (three to be omitted).
- NZPA
