League: Win down to 'little moments' - Beale

Kiwis winger Gerard Beale is tackled by Greg Bird of Australia during the Four Nations rugby league test in Brisbane. Photo / Getty Images

For Kiwis winger Gerard Beale, the key moment in last night's match came midway through the first quarter of the game.

While many pundits will highlight the second half effort of the Kiwis as the match turner, with their outstanding defence and run of 18 unanswered points, Beale feels the seeds were sown much earlier.

"Australia had made a great start - like they often do," said Beale.

"We were under some pressure but our heads didn't drop. For me it was a pretty big moment early in the first half, with our defence, especially when they were coming out of their own end. We kept sending them backwards and it was great seeing the boys dig in and really giving their all for each other; little moments like that that kept happening and we all fed off that energy. That was the beginning of it all."

The Kangaroos scored through Greg Inglis in the 21st minute to take a 12-6 lead - arguably against the run of play - but then the Kiwis dominated the rest of the half.

Lewis Brown scored an important solo try to level the scores and the New Zealand side had a spring in their step as they headed for the locker room.

"We came in at halftime with a lot of confidence," said Beale. "You never count out the Australians - they are a great side - but there was a sense this was our night. We went on with it and improved in the second half."

Beale was a late call up into the team, after Dallin Watene-Zelezniak's unfortunate injury. He had a solid match, albeit with a forgettable start. With just two minutes on the clock he dropped a Cooper Cronk bomb cold, and the Kangaroos scored on the next set through Beau Scott.

For long suffering Kiwis fans watching in the stadium and back in New Zealand there was a brief fear of 'here we go again' but Beale says he was quick to rebound.

"You never want those kind of things to happen but I didn't want to let it affect me," said Beale.

"I just made sure I got on with what was happening next and it was good we scored a few more tries and [that mistake] didn't matter in the end."