NZ Kiwis admit their attitude wasn't up to scratch, after scraping past Fiji 24-18 to reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals.
They concede they'll need to be a whole lot better against Australia next week, after being dominated by the Bati for large parts of the match at Hull.
Both sides observed a moment of calm and togetherness after 80 minutes of being locked in a ferocious battle, but New Zealand know it could easily have been them wiping away the tears.
"We put it on ourselves," lock Joseph Tapine told Newshub. "We didn't perform how we wanted to and we need to gel a bit better."
Slow from the start, New Zealand were stunned. What's more, they know they brought it on themselves.
"I think our attitude was pretty poor in that game," said five-eighth Dylan Brown. "Fiji came out to play, as we knew they would, so massive respect to them.
"It was a great game and a good warm-up for Australia. They're the best and we're going to have to get our stuff together."
The Kiwis' attitude was left wanting, as was their execution.
Down 18-6 just after halftime, flashbacks to the famous 2017 defeat were hard to avoid, but this time, the Kiwis fought back. Three unanswered tries got them over the line in a nailbiting, nauseating half-hour, when the tension was palpable.
"They aged me a bit," said coach Michael Maguire. "As I said to the players, we're through now.
"We got a fair bit out of that. It wasn't the style of what we liked to have played, but I was pleased they stuck to the plan."
With that final whistle came a massive sense of relief. The Kiwis just scraped through, far below their best, and they know they'll have to be so much better next week against the Kangaroos.
"If we let Australia get a headstart like that, I'm sure it will be hard to claim back," said Brown. "The start's going to be real important."
The practice runs are over. Now the Kiwis have one week to fix things up, before they take on their old rival once more.
Join Newshub next Saturday for live updates of the Kiwis v Australia Rugby League World Cup semi-final
