Australian Kangaroos vs New Zealand Kiwis – Friday night – Canberra Stadium

Australia

1. Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm)
2. Darius Boyd (Newcastle Knights)
3. Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
4. Justin Hodges (Brisbane Broncos)
5. Brett Morris (St George Illawarra Dragons)
6. Jonathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
7. Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
8. Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys)
9. Cameron Smith (c) (Melbourne Storm)
10. James Tamou (North Queensland Cowboys)
11. Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)
12. Greg Bird (Gold Coast Titans)
13. Paul Gallen (Cronulla Sharks)
14. Kurt Gidley (Newcastle Knights)
15. Nate Myles (Gold Coast Titans)
16. Luke Lewis (Cronulla Sharks)
17. Anthony Watmough (Manly Sea Eagles)

New Zealand

1. Josh Hoffman (Brisbane Broncos)
2. Sam Perrett (Canterbury Bulldogs)
3. Shaun Kenny-Dowell (Sydney Roosters)
4. Dean Whare (Manly Sea Eagles)
5. Jason Nightingale (St George Illawarra Dragons)
6. Keiran Foran (Manly Sea Eagles)
7. Shaun Johnson (New Zealand Warriors)
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Sydney Roosters)
9. Issac Luke (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
10. Jesse Bromwich (Melbourne Storm)
11. Kevin Proctor (Melbourne Storm)
12. Frank Pritchard (Canterbury Bulldogs)
13. Simon Mannering (c) (New Zealand Warriors)
14. Ben Matulino (New Zealand Warriors)
15. Sam McKendry (Penrith Panthers)
16. Alex Glenn (Brisbane Broncos)
17. Elijah Taylor (New Zealand Warriors)

The following is a method of assessment I've used previously, and I'll use it again because, quite frankly, it's a very effective way to size up two opponents. Ask yourself this question:

Is there a player in the New Zealand starting thirteen that would gain selection in the Australian starting thirteen?

If Sonny Bill Williams was available I would say 'yes', and I can certainly entertain a discussion about the merits of Jason Nightingale over Darius Boyd, but that might be where the discussion ends. This isn't a bad Kiwi line-up by any means. If you add SBW and Benji Marshall to that roster this is a team that would win the NRL premiership, but their opponent this weekend is, as Bruce McAveney likes to say, a little bit special.

A team is built around their key position players at 1,6,7 and 9. The Kangaroos have three once-in-a-generation players in those jerseys, and Cooper Cronk isn't far behind (on current form he'll be winning the Dally M medal this year). Billy Slater is so good he's keeping another once-in-a-generation player out of the number one jersey, with Greg Inglis slotting into the centre where he copes well enough. New Zealand fullback Josh Hoffman is a darn good player, but he can't get his hands on the number one jersey at the Broncos. Not only are the Kiwis facing true champions of the game, they're facing champions who get to hone their trade together at club level. It's safe to assume that the Smith, Slater, Cronk combinations should gel for a one-off test.

And speaking of combinations, it's worth noting that the Australian backline is virtually the Queensland Origin backline that's made a habit of winning for quite a few years now. Games aren't won on paper, but on paper there aren't a lot of weak links in that Kangaroos line-up.

Without question the gap between these sides has narrowed in recent years, and the last two ANZAC tests were fairly close. Close they may have been, but the Kangaroos still won, and I expect them to win again.

Verdict : Australia 22 - New Zealand 10

First try scorer : Billy Slater

Man of the Match : Cooper Cronk



Result - Australia 32 defeated New Zealand 12