Welcome to news.com.au’s live coverage of the Pacific Championship final between Australia and New Zealand.
The Kangaroos will take on the Kiwis at Waikato’s FMG Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the series decider.
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Australia have won their last three games against their Trans-Tasman rivals, with New Zealand’s last win over the Kangaroos coming back in 2018.
The game is scheduled to get underway at 3pm AEDT.
2.40pm – Kangaroos recall big guns
The Kangaroos have brought some serious firepower into their forward pack for the final.
Payne Haas, Liam Martin and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui all return to the start side, bolstering a team that defeated New Zealand last weekend.
2.15pm – Kiwis out for revenge
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said this week the Kiwis will be out for revenge after his side beat them earlier in the Pacific Championship and knocked them out of last year’s Rugby League World Cup.
“They’ll be biting at the bit to get revenge,” Meninga said.
“There’s no better feeling than revenge sometimes, so they’ll come out really hard and they’ll try to get ascendancy. All those sorts of things, we’ve got to counter that.
“They’ll come prepared. ‘Madge’ (Michael Maguire) is a great coach who will have them well prepared and ready to go. We’ve got to make sure we’re ready for that.”
Team line-ups
Australia
1. James Tedesco 2. Dylan Edwards 3. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 4. Kotoni Staggs 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Cameron Munster 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Payne Haas 9. Ben Hunt 10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 11. Cameron Murray 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Harry Grant 15. Lindsay Collins 16. Patrick Carrigan 17. Reuben Cotter 18. Nicho Hynes 19. Thomas Flegler 20. Selwyn Cobbo 21. Jake Trbojevic
New Zealand
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Ronaldo Mulitalo 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Joseph Manu 5. Jamayne Isaako 6. Dylan Brown 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Kieran Foran 10. Moses Leota 11. Isaiah Papali’i 12. Briton Nikora 13. Joseph Tapine 14. Fa’amanu Brown 15. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 16. Griffin Neame 17. Leo Thompson 18. Naufahu Whyte 19. Wiremu Greig 20. Keano Kini
