‘Everyone wrote us off’: Historic night as Kangaroos, Jillaroos beat Kiwis to make it four in a row

Detailed summary

Thanks to a brace of tries from Jack Bostock and Liam Martin, Kevin Walters’ Kangaroos have followed the lead of the Jillaroos by smashing the Kiwis to win their fourth straight World Cup.

Brisbane: We should have known this was going to be Australia’s night from the actual kick-off.

There was so much excitement about New Zealand heading into Sunday night’s World Cup final.

There were plenty of black jerseys walking the muggy streets of Brisbane in the afternoon, a lot of buzz when the players performed the haka, and the comfort they had newly-crowned Golden Boot winner Kalyn Ponga calling the shots at the back.

But Jamayne Isaako sent the kick-off way too deep, the Kangaroos received a penalty, marched down field and score a try via Liam Martin.

Rugby league fans have spent the past month working out whether this could finally be the year the Australians lost the World Cup.

Could it be Tonga? Maybe Samoa? New Zealand had the forward pack and Ponga and arguably should have won the Cup opener against the Kangaroos.

But when it mattered most, the class rose to the top, and the men wearing green and gold won the Cup for a fourth straight time, triumphing 32-12.

Martin finished with a double. Isaah Yeo, 100 days after rupturing his pec against the New Zealand Warriors, was inspirational in the middle. You can only imagine the sense of satisfaction when he lifted the trophy in the middle of Suncorp Stadium. He never once gave up on returning to the field from such a serious injury, and had this final forever in the back of his mind.

Jack Bostock bagged a double, Tom Trbojevic got across the line for his ninth Cup try, and Bradman Best did his stocks no harm with a try, a try-saver on Jahrome Hughes, and an excellent pass for Bostock’s final four-pointer.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Brisbane Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.