There has been a feeling of disappointment from both sides of the ditch after last weekend’s annual ANZAC rugby league test match between the Kangaroos and Kiwis. Despite the Kangaroos coming away with the 16-0 win, critics have labeled both sides performances as underwhelming.
As the Kiwis looked to go four games unbeaten against the Kangaroos, a horror build up, with injuries and suspensions to key players meant the side were on the back foot before the game was even started. The absence of playmakers Kieran Foran, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke meant a lot of players were out of position for the match. With back rower Tohu Harris playing in the centres and the makeshift dummy halves of Lewis Brown and Kenny Bromwich, the Kiwis were always going to have an uphill battle on their hands.
Unsurprisingly they struggled to gel and looked disorganised on attack. While Kiwis’ coach Steven Kearney was pleased with the defensive effort he admitted that they were not effective enough with the ball, as they rarely threatened the Kangaroos’ line.
Without veteran Benji Marshall who was yet again snubbed by Kearney, the Kiwis offered no flair, which prompted former Kiwis manager and Warriors coach Tony Kemp to criticise selectors. Kemp argued that specialist players like Marshall needed to be picked, as having players out of position created a mismatch, which the Kangaroos were able to capitalise on. Kemp believed the Kiwis didn’t have enough players to trouble the Kangaroos’ defence and someone like Marshall could have offered the spark that was required.
Despite the Kangaroos win, Australian media were also quick to criticise their team’s performance. Looking at the stats, the Kiwis were dominated all over the park, as the Kangaroos enjoyed a wealth of possession and territory. However the strongly favoured Australian side were unable to convert this dominance into tries as the Kiwis showed tough resilience on defence. The Kangaroos certainly did not look fluent as their performance was oddly disjointed for a team of such vast experience. Well respected rugby league commentator Phil Gould did not hold back during the game where he issued a scathing attack as he demanded that changes are going to be needed if the Kangaroos are to defend next year’s World Cup.