League: Lockyer - It wasn't an attack

Darren Lockyer. Photo / Getty Images

Darren Lockyer didn't believe the flying arm from Russell Packer that connected with his face in the opening moments of yesterday's test match was a calculated attack on his surgically repaired cheekbone.

Lockyer's NRL career ended prematurely when he suffered a depressed cheekbone in a collision with Broncos teammate Gerard Beale in a finals match against the Dragons.

Yesterday was his first match since suffering that injury. Following his kick at the end of the opening set he was floored by Packer and Simon Mannering. Packer was placed on report for his part in the tackle.

Lockyer felt the hit was both high and late but not a premeditated attack on his face.

"I'm okay, there are no dramas there," Lockyer said. "It was the other side [of my face]. It happened pretty quick. I just kicked the footy and when you are kicking the footy sometimes you get hit late and sometimes you get hit high. There was probably a little bit of both in that but I am okay."

A judiciary will examine the tackle today and decide whether Packer has a case to answer.

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens described the tackle as "a bit ordinary".

It was, however, just one incident in a hotly contested match.

"At the end of the day it was on," Sheens said. "Johnathan [Thurston] copped a few, Cameron [Smith] copped a few. We dished out a bit as well. There is just a line between where you want a test match to be. You don't want to be back in the 60s."

While a horribly leaky defence appeared to be the Kiwis' major problem, coach Stephen Kearney felt the side's problem began and ended with their shocking ball control.

"We just didn't hold on to the footy well enough," Kearney said. "To get yourself into the game against Australia you have to hold on to the footy and we didn't do that very well."

Captain Benji Marshall struggled to defend the sub par display that resulted in a 42-6 flogging. "It is international rugby league now. We are representing our country now and we all agreed that quite frankly it wasn't good enough."