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- Opinion: Tonga vs Kangaroos player ratings
- Coach Kristian Woolf excited for future of Mate Ma'a Tonga
Full-time - Australia 34 (Valentine Holmes 2, Tom Trbojevic 2, James Tedesco & Daly Cherry-Evans tries; Holmes five goals) Tonga 16 (Solomone Kata, Daniel Tupou & Tevita Pangai Jnr tries; Sio Siua Taukeiaho & Tuimoala Lolohea goals)
80th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Tonga are still looking for an opening. Fusitu'a gets clear, with only Tedesco to beat, but the fullback does just enough to bring him down.
Cook is sin-binned and somehow Tonga lose the ball from the penalty. The final hooter sounds.
76th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Tonga are threatening again, but when Havili offloads towards Fifita, it's deflected back and the Aussies have possession.
74th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Tonga are flinging the ball around, looking for a way through the defence. Katoa kicks over the line and Tedesco forces for yet another dropout.
72nd minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Lolohea starts a promising move out right and eventually Australia are penalised right in front of their posts. Taumalolo and Fonua-Blake charge towards the line.
The ball goes loose, Lolohea hacks the ball towards the goal-line and it hits the upright. Tedesco eventually tidies up, but he's dragged back over the line for a dropout.
71st minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Tonga have had 66 percent possiession in the second half, so the Aussies have done well defend against that.
70th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Katoa makes break from dummy half and Jennings storms upfield with Lolohea inside him. He chooses to go outside, where Murdoch-Masila is eventually tackled on the last.
69th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Keary kicks high on the last, but Fusitu'a soars high to defuse the threat.
67th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
Cherry-Evans kicks deep on the last, but Tonga run it out through Hopoate and Tupou. Fifita brings it over halfway.
64th minute - Australia 34 Tonga 16
TRY to Tedesco. Pangai Jnr tackles Cordner late and is penalised.
With prime field position, Tedesco simply slices through the defence to score near the left corner.
Holmes misses the conversion.
61st minute - Australia 30 Tonga 16
On the fifth tackle, Cherry-Evans bombs towards Tupou, but he's safe. Both teams are completing their sets now, waiting for the next decisive break.
57th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 16
Aussies are threatening again out the left side, but Gagai is gang-tackled into touch by four Tonga defenders. Fifita is about to return.
54th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 16
Australia are challenging and Tedesco offloads to Mitchell just 10 metres out, but Mitchell spills the ball. Defensive scrum to Tonga.
Taumalolo re-enters the game.
50th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 16
TRY to Kata. They've gone upstairs to check it for a knock-on, but it's fine.
Lolohea probes and when he's tackled, offloads to Manu. The ball comes right and Kata props inside a couple of tackles to make the line.
There's a fear that he has injured himself celebrating, but he seems ok.
Lolohea has the kicking duties and he guides the conversion through.
49th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
The Aussies are too slow clearing the tackle and Sutton penalises them for a third time, warning Cordner that someone will go next time.
48th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
On the last tackle, Lolohea grubbers over the line and Tedesco gathers, but can't escape the goal area. Another dropout.
47th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
Mitchell has drop-kicked 60 metres each time, but Tonga have reached the goal-line each time. They need points from all this.
46th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
Katoa kicks to the other corner - towards Tupou - and Gagai taps it dead. That's a third straight dropout for Australia.
45th minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
Lolohea kicks high in goal and Fusitu'a leaps high, tapping it back infield again. Cook is there to tap it into touch for dropout.
43rd minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
On the last tackle, the ball goes high to Fusitu'a out wide - he tips it infield and Manu puts through a grubber over the line.
Lolohea is closing fast and Mitchell has to tap it dead.
41st minute - Australia 30 Tonga 10
Havili is back on the field and when Frizell hits up from the second-half kick-off, he spills the ball as he tries to play it. Tonga have a scrum on halfway.
Half-time: Australia 30 (Valentine Holmes 2, Tom Trbojevic 2 & Daly Cherry-Evans tries; Holmes five goals) Tonga 10 (Daniel Tupou & Tevita Pangai Jnr tries; Sio Siua Taukeiaho goal)
40th minute - Tonga 10 Australia 30
TRY to Holmes. This is a carbon copy of his earlier try - and Sutton has gone upstairs for a possible eight-point try, after contact on Holmes' head after the try.
Fusitu'a has to come off his wing and leaves Holmes unmarked. As the cover defence comes across, he props infield and dives over the line.
Pangai Jnr is one of the defenders rushing across and makes contact with Holmes' head with his foot. He's put on report and Holmes will get two shots at goal - one conversion and the penalty for the infringement.
Holmes misses the conversion from out wide and gets another shot from in front. He makes this one.
39th minute - Tonga 10 Australia 24
Havili is going off for a head examination. The ball goes right to Fusitu'a, but Mitchell and Holmes wrap him up, and bundle him into touch.
37th minute - Tonga 10 Australia 24
Lolohea bombs right and Holmes bobbles, then cops a tackle from Kata just a few metres out from this line.
But Sutton rules that Katoa was off-side and penalises Tonga.
35th minute - Tonga 10 Australia 24
Try to Tupou. Tonga are charging towards the line and the ball goes left, Tupou is on the end of the chain.
Jennings had to make a finger-tip catch of a low pass to keep that movement alive. Taukeiaho misses the conversion from the side-line.
33rd minute - Tonga 6 Australia 24
Tonga have a scrum in prime position, 10 metres out with five tackles in hand.
Taukeiaho barges over the line, but he's wrapped up by three tacklers and can't get to ground.
32nd minute - Tonga 6 Australia 24
Hingano won't be back, so Havili is moving from hooker to the halves. Presumably, Katoa will come off the bench into dummy half.
30th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 24
TRY to Tom Trbojevic. The Aussies are starting to run rampant now.
The ball moves right from dummy half, Cherry-Evans makes a half-break. Trbojevic passes to Gagai, who draws the last defender and sends an in-pass back to his centre for the try.
Holmes converts.
28th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 18
Hingano has disappeared under the stands. Fonua-Blake replaces Taumalolo.
27th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 18
TRY to Holmes. Tedesco is almost over on the right and when the ball moves left, Fusitu'a has to come off the wing, leaving Holmes unmarked on the sideline.
Holmes props infield and leaves five non-tacklers in his wake. He converts his own try.
25th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 12
Aussies are threatening again. Cherry Evans kicks towards the posts on the last tackle, but Taumalolo reaches back and grabs the bouncing ball cleanly.
Hingano is still struggling with that injury.
23rd minute - Tonga 6 Australia 12
Woods and Jake Trbojevic come on for Australia. Jennings loses the ball in a tackle, squandering a prime attacking opportunity.
21st minute - Tonga 6 Australia 12
Havili kicks on the last, but straight into Kaufusi, who gathers for Australia.
20th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 12
Keary kicks on the last, but Fusitu'a catches in goal and clears danger.
19th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 12
From the kick-off, Fifita charges up and loses the ball in a tackle. The Aussies have a scrum about 15m out, but a pass goes astry and they lose 20m.
15th minute - Tonga 6 Australia 12
TRY to Pangai Jnr. Taumalolo takes the ball to the 20m mark and from dummy half, Hingano finds Pangai Jnr with a yawning space in front of him.
The greates threat to the tryscorer there was that he would trip over referee Gerard Sutton, who had to scamper out of the way.
Taukeiaho slots the converstion from in front.
15th minute - Tonga 0 Australia 12
Australia again making good ground quickly. Tedesco threatens again, it's kicked over the goal-line and Hopoate is able to escort the ball dead.
14th minute - Tonga 0 Australia 12
Lolohea kicks long on the last and it rolls dead, so the Aussies get an extra tackle.
11th minute - Tonga 0 Australia 12
Try to Tom Trbojevic. Tedesco makes the break from 50 metres out and passes right to Trbojevic, who beats the defence to the line.
Holmes converts from out wide.
10th minute - Tonga 0 Australia 6
Tonga are on the last tackle in the shadow of the goalposts, Hingano grubbers to the line, but Cherry-Evans smothers the ball and then draws a penalty to relieve.
Eighth minute - Tonga 0 Australia 6
Tonga kick off again and the Aussies are finding easy metres up the right side. Keary kicks high on the last and Fusitu'a is there again to make the catch.
Tonga get a penalty and chance to clear their territory.
Sixth minute - Tonga 0 Australia 6
TRY to Cherry-Evans. Tonga are trying to work their way out of their own territory, but a pass from Havili goes astray and is gathered by the Aussie half.
He still has some work to do, but manages to avoid the last couple of defenders to open the scoring.
Holmes converts and the Kangaroos are on top early.
Fourth minute - Tonga 0 Australia 0
Tedesco spots a half-gap on the fifth tackle, but is pulled down just short of the line. The Aussies try to find a way through, but get in a tangle and knock on in front of the posts.
Hingano is being tended for a shoulder injury, but the magic water has its desired affect.
Second minute - Tonga 0 Australia 0
Cherry-Evans kicks high on the last tackle, challenged by Manu, and Hopoate fields.
Fusitu'a knocks on in a tackle and Australia have first attacking opportunity.
First minute - Tonga 0 Australia 0
Aussies kick off and Taumalolo hits up first. Fifita takes the last carry of the set and Lolohea kicks high.
It's caught by Fusitu'a, but he's immediately tackled and hands the ball over.
*****
Well, the Tongan fans have again turned out in force - Mt Smart is covered in a shroud of red. This will lift their team to another level.
The Tongan national anthem is spine-tingling and some of the players are moved to tears. The Aussie anthem is comparatively tame.
Now, the Sipi Tau - the first time the Australians will face this and it feels like the crowd has become part of the performance.
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the soldout rugby league test between Mate Ma'a Tonga and Australia, played at the 'neutral' venue of Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium.
I say 'neutral', because Penrose is only a stone's throw away from the greatest concentration of Tongans in the world, so good luck if you're an Aussie supporter. There won't be many of those in the ground tonight.
- King Tupou VI inspires Mate Ma'a Tonga players
- Boyd Cordner says Kangaroos would have played Tonga for free
- Kangaroos still hold the measuring stick - Jason Taumalolo
Of course, the backdrop to this game was last year's Rugby League World Cup, where a bunch of Tonga players elected to play for their native country, rather than New Zealand or Australia.
Leading the charge were former Kiwi Jason Taumalolo and former Kangaroos Andrew Fifita, and their initiative really captured the imagination of their teammates and supporters around the world.
But particularly here in Auckland.
The Tonga rugby league became a force of nature, and crowds at their games were a sea of red and white. The Tongan supporters really made the World Cup a success, especially when the NZ Kiwis failed to progress past the quarter-finals.
Ultimately, Tonga fell to England in the semis, losing out to a disputed referee's decision in the final moments.
The Aussies will be hurting this week, after losing New Zealand on this same ground seven days ago, but coach Mal Meninga has named an unchanged line-up.
Australia: 1-James Tedesco, 2-Dane Gagai, 3-Tom Trbojevic, 4-Latrell Mitchell, 5-Valentine Holmes, 6-Luke Keary, 7-Daly Cherry-Evans, 8-David Klemmer, 9-Damien Cook, 10-Jordan McLean, 11-Body Cordner, 12-Felise Kaufusi, 13-Josh McGuire
Interchange: 14-Ben Hunt, 15-Jake Trbojevic, 16-Tyson Frizell, 17-Aaron Woods
Tonga: 1-Will Hopoate, 2-Daniel Tupou, 3-Michael Jennings, 4-Solomone Kata, 5-David Fusitu'a, 6-Tuimoala Lolohea, 7-Ata Hingano, 8-Andrew Fifita, 9-Siliva Havili, 10-Sio Siua Taueiaho, 11-Tevita Pangai Junior, 12-Sika Manu, 13-Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14-Sione Katoa, 15-Addin Fonua-Blake, 16-Joe Ofahengaue, 21-Ben Murdoch-Masila
One of the keys tonight will be in the spine - and especially the halves - where Australia seem to hold a decisive advantage. The Tonga halves of Lolohea and Hingano are relatively inexperienced, compared to Cherry-Evans and Keary, who was man of the match in the NRL Grand Final only a couple of weeks ago.
More to come
