Australia kicked off their Pacific Championships campaign with a comfortable 38-12 victory over plucky Samoa in Townsville.
The Kangaroos, led by the fearsome frontline duo of Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, got off to a flying start but Samoa held on as the Australians kept them in the game with a few simple errors.
A few debutants in the centers also had exceptional nights and Australia ultimately proved too classy.
Read on for the Kangaroos player ratings from foxsports.com.au.
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1. JAMES TEDESCO – 8
Crossed the line with ease to score the second try of the match, embarrassing a stylish Samoa right edge. Made seven tackles on just 10 carries, recorded two line breaks and ran for 142 yards. A good evening for the skipper.
2. DYLAN EDWARDS – 7
Apart from a simple mistake in the first half, he didn’t look out of place on his representative debut in a somewhat foreign position for him. Even on the wing, his ability to eat up yards was not overlooked, as he ran for the second most yards of any Kangaroo (144).
3. HAMISO TABUAI-FIDOW – 9.5
Impressive test debut. Showed the turn of foot of an Everest winner as he scored his first try from deep inside Australia, creating something out of nothing. “It’s a sensational side,” Andrew Voss said on Fox League. Crossed from short range to score his second try, which ended a second-half stalemate. Dealt a big blow to Brian To’o late in the match.
4. KOTONI STAGGS – 9
I thought he was outstanding on his international debut. Opened up the defense early but failed to return the pass inside which would have resulted in a try. He looked threatening all night and wasn’t afraid to hit hard on defense. Scored the try he deserved five seconds from time, chasing down a lovely grubber. Goals scored as well, ending up with a personal total of 14 points.
5. SELWYN COBBO – 6.5
Caught napping in defense on several occasions, one of those moments resulted in a Samoa try when Murray Taulagi got behind him to chase down a layup. Aside from that, he made some tough runs off his own turf and seemed to make them all count. Fox League’s Corey Parker says the winger spot could be under pressure with Val Holmes waiting in the wings and Staggs and Tabuai-Fidow impressing in the centers.
6. CAMERON MUNSTER – 8
Apparently he had control of everything in the first half, scoring two tries. Threatening with the ball, but missed a few key tackles. Pretty decent night.
7. DALY CHERRY-EVANS – 7
Led the team well on the park and did everything right in a team full of stars, but didn’t shine. His best moment of the evening came in the final moments when he set up a pinpoint snatcher to set up a Staggs try. Solid output.
8. PAYNE HAAS – 9.5
He only played 44 minutes, but he made them all count. Committed an early on, but quickly forgot about it as soon as he burst ten yards for the first down with four defenders wrapped around him. His first 15 minutes were pure domination (72 meters, four missed tackles, try), with him and frontline partner Tino Fa’asuamaleaui moving the ball up the field with ease, with Samoa still trailing during this period. Finished with 141 yards on 14 carries, six tackle failures and 13 clean tackles.
9. BEN HUNT – 6
Set up Tino’s first half try with some stylish dummy half work. It wasn’t a threat to run with the ball, I only carried it four yards once. The serve was good but it didn’t have a major impact on the match during its 41 minutes on the park.
Edwards among debutants for Kangaroos | 00:52
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10. TINO FA’ASUAMALEAUI – 9.5
He had an excellent first stint (26 minutes), which included a point-blank try in addition to five tackles and 90 running meters. As mentioned, he and Payne Haas set the tone for the Kangaroos in their dominant opening 20 minutes, which saw Australia take a 22-0 lead. The only criticism was leaving a late consolation try begging after dropping a keeper when a gaping hole opened up.
11. CAMERON MURRAY-7
He pinned his ears back and braced himself when he scored his try in the first half, seeing the gap on the left edge. I worked hard all night.
12. LIAM MARTIN-6.5
Injected himself into the game with a lot of venom in defense. I tried as always, but others were better.
13. ISAAH YEO-8
Gave a nice short ball to Payne Haas to set up the first down. Did some good things on offense and was impeccable on defense, recording 27 tackles with no misses.
EXCHANGE BENCH:
14. HARRY GRANT – 6
Share the load with Ben Hunt, playing the middle 40 minutes. I worked hard in defense even though the match was a bit slow.
15. LINDSAY COLLINS – 7.5
He may not have had the ball-in-hand impact as Haas and Tino’s starting front row, but the Roosters big man should be pretty happy with his work. In just 37 minutes off the bench, he made 34 tackles. Quite an effort.
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16. PAT CARRIGAN – 7
Strong impact coming off the bench, running for just under 100 meters (95) in eight races.
17. REUBEN COTTER – 7
He rarely lets his team down and simply thrives at representative level. Played 30 high-impact minutes off the bench, rushing for 78 yards on seven hits.
