Kangaroos kick off with a win

Australia opened this year's Four Nations with a 26-12 victory over reigning champions New Zealand at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

The Kangaroos opened up a 16-0 lead over their trans-Tasman rivals by the end of the first half, suggesting a repeat was on the cards of their crushing 42-6 win over the same opponents less than a fortnight ago.

The Kiwis did get to within four points with tries from Jason Nightingale and Kalifa Faifai'loa, both of which were converted by Benji Marshall, only for the Aussies to move clear again in the closing stages.

Darius Boyd's effort out wide gave his side some breathing space before a try for Akuila Uate sealed the win with five minutes to play.

Too much

New Zealand did at least win the second half 12-10, although they had simply left themselves with too much ground to make up.

Their Haka before kick-off suggested they would put up more of a fight than they did in Newcastle last time out, though it took just two minutes for Australia to break the deadlock when prop Matt Scott barged his way over.

The Kiwis threatened a response on several occasions only for a mixture of solid defence and careless play to stop them turning pressure into points.

In contrast, Australia were clinical in attack.

Tony Williams made an immediate impression off the bench, as if the giant forward could ever tip-toe quietly into proceedings, when he accepted Jonathan Thurston's pass and brushed off Marshall to get over.

The same combination again worked the New Zealand left side to get a third try, Thurston's superbly-timed pass setting Williams free before the Manly forward returned the favour to set up the half-back.

A 16-point deficit proved too much for New Zealand to overhaul after the break, though they did make a game of it by crossing twice in the space of eight minutes.

Loose ball

Nightingale got them on the board when he seized on a loose ball following a great Keiron Foran kick to the right-hand side, one that had been knocked backwards by an Australian hand according to the television official.

Faifai'loa followed his fellow winger over the line as New Zealand were rewarded for their efforts in keeping the ball alive on the last, Marshall's second conversion making it 16-12 with a quarter of the game remaining.

Australia did not panic though, and some quick hands from the backs put Boyd in at the left corner. Thurston converted from out wide too, meaning the lead was back in double figures.

The try knocked the stuffing out of New Zealand and they were breached again before the end, Uate winning the race to Billy Slater's grubber.