Rugby League: Hooking Sharks helped ease Anzac test pain

By JOE VAGANA

I had sleepless nights last Friday and Saturday after the hiding the Kiwis copped in the Anzac test - and boy, was it good to get a win against the Sharks on Monday.

Myself, Nigel Vagana and Stacey Jones really wanted to go out and prove something, and were satisfied that we did. It was a good effort considering it's usually three to four days after a game before the bruising starts to come out.

Although we didn't get any points at Stadium Australia, we did plenty of work and the body was sore. The adrenalin took over for the 80 minutes on Monday.

The Kiwi dressing room was very quiet after the Anzac game. The Australians had played really well and we were really bad. There were all sorts of reasons, including the disruption caused by the late arrival of the English boys and all the injuries. But the Aussies turned up to play and we didn't.

Coach Frank Endacott told us to remember the feeling: "This is the worst you can feel in a Kiwi jersey. Try to focus on the World Cup because you can't do anything about this."

We took that on board. We know we let ourselves and the country down. We know we can do better. We can't dwell on it - we have to learn from it and carry on.

And I will be carrying on in the Kiwi jersey, despite reports that some of us are thinking of switching to Samoa for the World Cup. I'll certainly be playing for New Zealand and, as far as I know, so is cousin Nigel and all the others already in the black and white.

The Warriors will be out for revenge against Wests Tigers at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday night. We felt hard-done-by after the visit to Leichhardt and we'd like to reverse that result.

It's been good to get two wins for our fans. A hard core have stuck with us through thick and thin. They've been fantastic and we'd like to give them another one.