Tohu Harris takes on the Kangaroos defence. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Tohu Harris takes on the Kangaroos defence. Photo / Mark Mitchell
NZ forward pack deserve as much praise and attention as brilliant halfback Shaun Johnson
As they had done throughout the tournament, the Kiwis forwards paved the way for their side's thrilling Four Nations final win over the Kangaroos in Wellington on Saturday night.
Their efforts were overshadowed by a stunning individual performance from halfback Shaun Johnson but the big men were just as deserving of praise and attention.
For the second time in four weeks they dismantled the Kangaroos pack and exposed their frailty up-front, backing up their tournament opening win over Australia in Brisbane with another fiercely dominant display in the 22-18 win in the capital.
"We knew we had to really step up in the forwards, that's where the game was going to be won and our edges finished it off," said bench forward Greg Eastwood. "Big Manu [Vatuvei] got a double and Shaun's try, that was [off] all the hard work of the forwards but we'll let him take all the glory."
Leading into Saturday night's game the Kangaroos had made it clear they were seeking redemption for that initial embarrassment but with just one specialist prop in the starting side they were again found wanting.
Led by skipper Simon Mannering and prop Jesse Bromwich, the Kiwis pack had to absorb plenty of pressure as the visitors raced out of the blocks to claim an early 6-0 lead.
Tohu Harris takes on the Kangaroos defence. Photo / Mark Mitchell
They found support when Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney threw his interchange men into the action, with Eastwood, Martin Taupau, Tohu Harris and Lewis Brown helping to turn the tide the home side's way throughout a tense second quarter.
Their relentless play was crucial in countering the Kangaroos' fast start and shortly after the trio arrived on the park the Kiwis levelled through Jason Nightingale's four-pointer in the 22nd minute. On the back of that score the Kiwis enjoyed five sets to Australia's one, spending the bulk of that time camped down in green and gold territory.
The visitors had little response to the Kiwis' dynamic running - bar the fearless efforts of rookie David Klemmer - as New Zealand's big men began to take charge in the middle.
By halftime the metres gained statistics told the story: The Kiwis had five forwards making well over 50m (Eastwood 88m, Taupau 81m, Bromwich 77m, Mannering 71m, and Harris 56m) while the Kangaroos had just one in back-rower Greg Bird with 58m.)
Following the resumption the Kiwis were forced to repel another Kangaroos onslaught and despite the injury-enforced departure of Taupau the forwards reclaimed the ascendancy.
The offloads kept coming to allow halves Shaun Johnson and Kieran Foran to operate with time and space and eventually the pressure told when the gun No7 split the defence and stepped around fullback Greg Inglis to score a stunning try.
"As a half there's no way I could have jumped on the back of it if they weren't doing that," Johnson said. "They've been doing it for a few weeks now and I'm just glad I got to execute on the back of it. There were some really tough carries that had to be made out there and they just kept delivering so full credit to them."
Johnson extolled the virtues of Kearney's coaching style and the way in which he encourages his players to back themselves if they see a chance to promote the football through the hands.
"Credit to Mooksy [Kearney], he's done a really good job of making the group really comfortable to offload and to just play what we feel and I think it is pretty obvious that we are at our best when we are doing that.
"We've got structure but if we see something in our game, right from the start Mooks encouraged everyone to take that opportunity.
"A lot of the tries we've scored right throughout the tournament have probably been exactly off that. They haven't been full-on structured set plays they've just been that ad-lib."
Eastwood rated the victory as being better than both the Kiwis' 2008 World Cup and 2010 Four Nations successes, explaining it held special significance being able to achieve a tournament win on home soil.
"It's special. Especially a win back at home in front of your people ... ," he said. "I've enjoyed a World Cup win and a Four Nations [win] before but to be here in Wellington and to take it out means so much more to the boys and especially to New Zealand."
