League: Tate wary of wounded Kiwis

Australian centre Brent Tate. Photo / Getty Images

Australian centre Brent Tate believes defeat will only have made the Kiwis a more dangerous foe in the Four Nations rugby league final in Brisbane this weekend.

The New Zealanders are licking their wounds after a disappointing performance against their transtasman rivals in the final pool encounter at Auckland last weekend, which ended in a 34-20 loss.

But Tate, who scored one of his side's six tries at Eden Park, doubted that the result will have left any indelible scars for the Kiwis ahead of the title decider at Suncorp Stadium.

"You just have to look back to the World Cup to know that it's a very dangerous game for us," he said.

"We have a job to do and we have to get back on the saddle."

Two years ago at the same venue, the Kiwis stunned the Kangaroos - coincidentally by the same 34-20 scoreline - to lift the World Cup for the first time.

Tate didn't play in that match, a hip injury picked up in the semifinal against Fiji the previous weekend ruling him out.

But as a member of that squad, the loss remained "still raw" for him.

He didn't see it as a cause for revenge, just a warning to the Australians of what can happen.

"I was a part of that World Cup campaign and that hurt for a long time," he said.

"Whilst we don't use it as motivation, it is a great tool to remind us that there is a job still to be done."

On the the flipside, the former New Zealand Warrior saw a difference in the Kangaroos this time around.

"Our form going into the final last time was a bit scratchy," he said.

"This time, we've got a bit of confidence, which will do us a lot of good."

In line with New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney's view than he didn't think his side could play any worse than they did at Eden Park, Tate said he was preparing for a much improved Kiwis display.

The Kangaroos were helped by some early errors as they raced out to an 18-2 lead after 25 minutes and Tate wasn't expecting a repeat of the same charity.

"It was a great performance by our boys and their guys made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes, but I'm under no illusions," he said.

"This week is going to be far different. They are a quality team and they have quality players, and they will bounce back from this."

Tate's own display, in which he was continual threat on Australia's right edge, brought him plenty of personal satisfaction.

Until the Four Nations began last month, he hadn't played a test since the World Cup, having spent most of last year recovering from a second serious knee injury.

"It's just a nice reward to be back in this team for all the hard work that I've had to do," he said.

"I'm pleased, but I'm pretty aware of the task that I've got this week as well."

- NZPA