Star fullback Joseph Manu has produced some much-needed, second-half magic to guide NZ Kiwis home 34-12 over Lebanon in their Rugby League World Cup opener at Warrington.
Entering the tournament ranked first in the world, New Zealand were made to work hard early, with the Cedars scoring first in both halves and giving an outstanding account of themselves in their opening match.
Guided by Michael Cheika - who already has an All Blacks scalp this year with Argentina - Lebanon struck from the opening kickoff, which five-eighth Adam Doueihi sent high and short for his chasers to secure back.
From the ensuing possession, Mitch Moses kicked to the goal-line and when the ball bounced loose, veteran winger Josh Mansour pounced to put the underdogs on the scoreboard.
The Kiwis were shaken out of their sleepwalking start and responded, when Kenny Bromwich rolled over on his back to score upside down a few minutes later.
As the first half wore on, New Zealand's big forwards - notably Nelson Asofa-Solomona, when he came off the bench - began to take a toll on their counterparts, with 'Big Nasty' powering over to score by the posts and centre Peta Hiku putting them up 18-6 at the break.
Sloppy handling errors plagued the Kiwis, who dominated other areas enough to hold a more commanding halftime lead, and their demeanour was not helped, when winger Abbas Miski grabbed a second try for Lebanon after the restart.
Momentum swung decisively New Zealand's way in the space of a few minutes, when Manu broke over halfway and beat a few halfhearted tackles, before finding half Dylan Brown running a line down the centre of the field to score.
From the kickoff, Manu received the ball in Lebanon territory and deftly chip-kicked over a defender, gathered and spun away from a couple more to score himself.
Doueihi kicked off again, but as Manu gathered the ball securely, referee Grant Atkins abruptly sent the kicker from the field, leaving Lebanon shorthanded for the remaining 20 minutes.
To combat the short kickoffs, the Kiwis had set up blockers against the Lebanese chasers, a tactic that apparently drew an abusive complaint from Doueihi, who paid the heavy price.
While everyone tried to figure out what had happened, New Zealand kicked the penalty deep into the Lebanon half and winger Jordan Rapana took toll of their mismatch to score a third try in quick succession.
With Doueihi gone, Moses assumed kickoff duties and sent his first long over the deadball line, presenting the Kiwis with a penalty on halfway. Now trailling 34-12, the contest had slipped away from the plucky Cedars.
The Kiwis probably should have drive home that advantage even more over the dying stages, but were penalised on three successive attacks for obstruction, with the tryline open before them.
The result puts them in early control of their pool, with Lebanon and Ireland - early winners over Jamaica - battling for the second quarter-final spot, but coach Michael Maguire still has work to do getting his star-studded cast playing off the same page.
Certainly, they were not as impressive as rivals Australian and England were gainst Fiji and Samoa respectively in their opening exchanges.
New Zealand face debutants Jamaica on Sunday and will likely field a second-string line-up in what should be a gimme win.
NZ 34 (K Bromwich, Hiku, Brown, Manu, Rapana & Asofa-Solomona tries; Rapana 5 conversions) Lebanon 12 (Mansour & Miski tries; Moses 2 conversions)
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