KEY POINTS:
Australia 16 New Zealand 12
SYDNEY - The Kangaroos snatched back the Tri Nations rugby league title from the Kiwis 16-12 with a golden point try to their captain Darren Lockyer in a pulsating final at Aussie Stadium tonight.
Lockyer latched on to a Johnathan Thurston
break nine minutes into extra time to break the Kiwis' hearts after they had four attempts at a field goal - three of them to halfback Stacey Jones - in an intense ending to a bruising match.
It was the Kangaroos' fourth consecutive win against the Kiwis since captain Ruben Wiki's men won last year's Tri-Nations title 24-0 in Leeds.
Before a crowd of 27,325, the scores were locked 12-12 at fulltime and both Jones and Lockyer both missed field goal attempts -- the latter charged down by standout Kiwis fullback Brent Webb -- before Thurston's final break.
Kangaroos' trash-talking prop Willie Mason, who started from the bench, so nearly won the match in normal time when he steamrolled Motu Tony, kicked through and Greg Inglis knocked on in Webb's tackle on the fulltime hooter.
Webb went closest to winning the game with three minutes left when his field goal attempt shaved the left-hand upright.
The Kiwis defended magnificently and kept the star-studded Kangaroos to just one try in 80 minutes and scored two themselves to Frank Pritchard and Iosia Soliola.
Thurston's four from four goalkicks proved the difference.
The match was a great ending to a tournament which captured the imagination and may well have been Jones' farewell to international league.
It was well poised at halftime, with one try apiece in the first 40 minutes but the Kangaroos 10-6 up after dominating the early stanzas.
The hosts raced to an 8-2 lead after 10 minutes and looked to have the Kiwis at their mercy when wing Brent Tate scored a soft try in the right-hand corner after a Mark Gasnier burst from broken play.
The Kiwis endured heavy pressure with three consecutive Kangaroos sets of six, which mercifully ended in a second Johnathan Thurston penalty goal after a Nigel Vagana high tackle on opposite Darren Lockyer.
An injury blow soon followed for the Kiwis when centre Steve Matai, after several useful snipes from dummy half, re-injured his troublesome right shoulder in a tackle and was gone for the night.
But the Kiwis' veteran little general Jones sparked their revival, with a pinpoint chip kick grabbed by ever-present fullback Webb who sent replacement Pritchard on a clear 20m run to score in the 29th minute.
That switched the momentum either side of halftime, along with a flurry of penalties to the Kiwis from Australian-turned-English referee Ashley Klein.
Jones and Webb then combined again to level the scores six minutes after the break, a classic wrap-around set move with Vagana flipping an inside ball for centre Soliola to barge over.
But Jones couldn't convert and Thurston's superior goalkicking reclaimed the Kangaroos' lead, landing his fourth consecutive goal to make it 12-10 after Webb was penalised at the play-the-ball.
The Kiwis defended desperately to shut down several Kangaroos raids -Vagana keeping the mercurial Lockyer in check - and both sides spilled ball as the errors crept in inside an intense final quarter.
Jones drew a penalty which levelled the scores 12-12 with 10 minutes left when Nathan Hindmarsh impeded him chasing a grubber 10m out.
"The Kiwis have been No 1 all year but I'm just glad we've won it back for ourselves, the Australian coaches and the public," a jubilant Thurston said.
The Kiwis stood or slumped dejectedly after giving everything to the cause.
"What a game, eh," captain Wiki said.
"It wasn't the result we wanted but rugby league got its money's worth."
Australia 16 (B Tate D Lockyer tries; J Thurston 4 goals)
New Zealand 12 (F Pritchard I Soliola tries; S Jones 2 goals).
- NZPA