Tim Sheens has announced an unchanged Australian squad to face New Zealand in the final of the 2014 Four Nations in Wellington on Saturday evening.
After suffering a 30-12 defeat at the hand of New Zealand in their opening match of the competition, Australia will be hoping they can further build on the momentum they have built from a tight win against England and a dominant performance against Samoa.
As the only side to go through the group stages undefeated, and with a home crowd cheering them on, New Zealand will be confident they can carry on their strong form and secure their first Four Nations title since 2010.
Kangaroos squad:
1 Greg Inglis
2 Josh Mansour
3 Michael Jennings
4 Dylan Walker
5 Sione Mata’utia
6 Daly Cherry-Evans
7 Cooper Cronk
8 Aaron Woods
9 Cameron Smith (c)
10 Josh Papalii
11 Sam Thaiday
12 Greg Bird
13 Corey Parker
14 Boyd Cordner
15 Robbie Farah
16 Aidan Guerra
17 Ryan Hoffman
18 Ben Hunt
19 Josh Jackson
20 David Klemmer
New Zealand has dropped hooker Thomas Leuluai from their line-up for Saturday’s decider. The Warriors utility has started in the front row for New Zealand’s lead-up wins against Australia and England over the past three weeks, but sustained a shoulder injury – as well as a badly gashed face – during his last outing in Dunedin.
Tests this week showed he would not be fit to face the Kangaroos again in the final, so Issac Luke has been promoted from the bench, with utility Lewis Brown joining the playing line-up.
Otherwise, Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney has stuck to the same team that held out the English, taking the precaution of naming back Gerard Beale and forward Bodene Thompson as 18th and 19th men.
Several others emerged from the weekend with injury concerns, but Tohu Harris (shoulder), Dean Whare (foot) and Jason Nightingale (face) are all expected to line up as named.
New Zealand squad:
1 Peta Hiku
2 Jason Nightingale
3 Shaun Kenny-Dowall
4 Dean Whare
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 Kieran Foran
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Jesse Bromwich
9 Issac Luke
10 Adam Blair
11 Simon Mannering
12 Kevin Proctor
13 Jason Taumalolo
14 Lewis Brown
15 Greg Eastwood
16 Martin Taupau
17 Tohu Harris
18 Gerard Beale
19 Bodene Thompson
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the 2014 Four Nations final from 6:45pm (AEDT) on Saturday evening and check back in for post-match highlights and analysis following the final siren.
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