Men's Rugby League World Cup final - Australia 32-12 New Zealand: Kangaroos brush off Kiwis to win fourth straight world title

Jack Bostock and Liam Martin both starred as Australia swept away New Zealand 32-12 in the men's Rugby League World Cup final to be crowned world champions for the fourth time in a row.

Australia had begun the tournament slowly, narrowly beating New Zealand 24-22 in their World Cup curtain-raiser in October, but when it came to the business end of the World Cup, they showcased why they are the best team in the world.

It ushered in another era of dominance for Australian Rugby League, after the Jillaroos also completed a four-peat of World Cup victories, following their 34-10 victory against New Zealand's women's side earlier on Sunday.

New Zealand had been out to win their first World Cup since 2008, but James Fisher-Harris' side were errant in defence, missing 37 tackles as Reece Walsh and Bradman Best tore apart the Kiwi line.

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"I can't put it into words. It's unbelievable," player of the match, Bostock, said.

"We were written off early in the tournament, and probably didn't play our best games.

"Last week, you saw us start to turn it on, we saw glimpses of what we could do, and today we put it all together on the big stage.

"We've got 10 club captains in our team, so there's so much leadership.

"If I can just pick up stuff from them in my young career, it's only going to do me good. I'll never forget this day."

The Kangaroos wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, with Martin, carrying three New Zealand defenders, driving over inside 95 seconds of kick-off.

New Zealand have been in excellent form throughout the campaign, and despite going down early, they hit back ten minutes later with Casey McLean receiving a chest pass from Kodi Nikorima, before darting over from close range.

The hosts made them pay, with Walsh and Best showcasing their elite handling skills to flick the ball out to Bostock, who crossed over in the corner for his first of the match.

Best then added his name to the scoresheet as Australia continued to ruthlessly probe their way through the Kiwi's defensive line.

Tom Dearden sucked in multiple defenders before sending the ball out wide to Best, who wrong-footed another defender before darting through a big gap to score.

Martin and Tom Trbojevic would bookend tries either side of half-time, with the Penrith Panthers back-row again crashing over from 10m out.

Walsh then left New Zealand stunned, dancing his way around multiple defenders before popping the ball off to Trbojevic, who scored three minutes into the second half.

New Zealand began to grow into the match, with Ronaldo Mulitalo having a try chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up before Isaiah Papali'i gathered a grubber kick from Nikorima to get a try back with 14 minutes to go.

But Australia were ruthless, with Bostock taking a sublime back-hand offload from Best in the corner to score his second, and secure Australia's men's 13th Rugby League World Cup.

Ponga: We made too many errors

New Zealand full-back Kalyn Ponga explained he was gutted by the loss but accepted his side were second best.

"It's pretty disappointing," Ponga said to Channel 7.

"We set a goal at the beginning of the camp, spoke about it at length, and it was just a disappointing performance.

"Credit to them, they played a better style of footy, and we made too many errors.

"It's disappointing because we worked so hard and built throughout the weeks for this moment, but it didn't come together."

Tedesco confirms international retirement

James Tedesco had initially been named as a reserve for tonight's match, but after Latrell Mitchell was forced to pull out due to illness, the Sydney Roosters full-back was drafted into the squad.

He explained that he hadn't even expected to come off the bench during Sunday's match, before adding that he was set to retire from international rugby league.

"I didn't expect to be playing or getting any minutes, but Kevvie gave me the last five minutes; to be part of it is pretty special," Tedesco said.

"Whatever my role with this group was, I was happy with. This will be my last time wearing this jersey, so it was pretty special.

"We talked from the start about what we were building. There were a few questions asked about our group, but I think we saved our best for last."