The Tri Nations Final Thread!

[DIEHARD]

Game: 2005 Gillette Tri Nations Final - Australia v New Zealand
Venue: Elland Road Stadium, Leeds
When: Saturday 26 November at 6.15pm (local time):
TV: 5am (ADST) Sunday 27 November on Channel 9
Replay: Sunday November 27 - 9am (ADST) Fox Sports 2. 7:30pm (ADST) Fox Sports 1

AUSTRALIAN KANGAROOS

http://www.kangarooarmy.com/newsimages/kanganews.gif

19 man Australian squad
Trent Barrett
Danny Buderus
Petero Civoniceva
Matt Cooper
Anthony Minichiello
Craig Fitzgibbon
Mark Gasnier
Craig Gower
Ben Kennedy
Matt King
Willie Mason
Luke O'Donnell
Mark O'Meley
Steve Price
Scott Prince
Jason Ryles
Brent Tate
Trent Waterhouse
Craig Wing

VERSUS

NEW ZEALAND KIWIS

http://www.kangarooarmy.com/newsimages/nznews.gif

19 man Kiwi squad
B Webb (NZ Warriors)
J Webster (Melbourne)
S Hape (Bradford)
C Toopi (NZ Warriors)
M Vatuvei (NZ Warriors)
N Vagana (Cronulla)
S Jones (NZ Warriors)
P Rauhihi (North Queensland)
M Tony (Hull)
R Wiki (NZ Warriors, capt)
D Solomona (Wakefield)
D Kidwell (Melbourne)
L Anderson (NZ Warriors).

Subs (from):
P Whatuira (Wests Tigers)
R Asotasi (Canterbury)
D Faiumu (North Queensland)
B Harrison (Wests Tigers),
I Palea?aesina (NZ Warriors)
A Lauitiiti (Leeds).

[DIEHARD]

Here is a thread for pre-game chatter and of course blow by blow plays of the game. (I'll add a spoiler warning closer to kick off.)

Feel free to continue to post Tri Nations related threads in the International Forum though!

[Dakink]

Aus by 14. Have a feeling that we will skip away as the game goes on. Plenty of variables here though - Jones, weather and the Kiwi's themselves. Play like they did against GB and it will be 50+

[DIEHARD]

I think it will be a close game, Kangaroos by 10.

[Super Cronk]

AUS- Win by 16+ points
FTS-Matt king..leaping over vatuvei take the bomb and score in the corner.
MOM-Gower- will have an excellent game, a hand in all tries

[Steelers]

AUS by 4
MOTM Barrett/Gower
FFS Gasnier/Tate

[Ipswich Fan]

Australia by 12. I think it will be tight the whole way through with Australia sealing it late.
FTS:M. Cooper
MOM: T. Barrett

[Super Cronk]

its live on 9 right?

[Ipswich Fan]

Yes.

[DIEHARD]

its live on 9 right?

Yep, if you aren't going to get up and watch it. I recommend that people set their VCRs, as the replays on Fox Sports will be edited and won't have all the pre match, half time and post match hoohah, which I delight in.

[Super Cronk]

Yep, if you aren't going to get up and watch it. I recommend that people set their VCRs, as the replays on Fox Sports will be edited and won't have all the pre match, half time and post match hoohah, which I delight in.

nope ill be getting up early and watching it. and then watch the replay later on aswell.

[DIEHARD]

I'll be getting up early and taping it and watching the replay.

I just can't get enough. But hell I will miss the football so badly once full time is sounded!

But I guess there will be enough news, rumours and innuendo to keep me satisfied until the trial matches and the World Club Challenge.

Oh and let's not forget that a certain Rugby League game is being released on December 8th....might just be able to survive the off season!

[DIEHARD]

Preview - Australia v New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand meet for the third time in six weeks in Saturday's Tri-Nations final at Elland Road.

The southern hemisphere rivals have eclipsed home side Great Britain in the sport's main international tournament.

The Kangaroos, who have not lost a Test series since 1978, have slight fitness doubts over Craig Wing and Craig Gower.

New Zealand are without forward Frank Pritchard, while Stacey Jones will play following a 12,000-mile flight after attending the birth of his third child.

Pritchard misses out after he sustained concussion in Friday's match against France.

But coach Brian McClennan has dropped loose forward Awen Guttenbeil and second rower Tony Puletua, and included Bronson Harrison, who made his Test debut against France, and Wigan's new signing Iafeta Palea'aesina.

Stand-off Nigel Vagana will return to the Kiwi side after serving a one-match ban for his challenge on Paul Deacon.

New Zealand set themselves up for the tournament with a surprise 38-28 win over Australia in their opening game, and were unlucky to be edged out 28-26 in the second.

Kiwi coach Brian McClennan insisted his side were the underdogs, drawing parallels with Hollywood comedy DodgeBall.

Craig Wing will play with a protective guard around a sternum injury

"If we managed to pull off the biggest upset in the history of rugby league that would be the biggest thing ever for rugby league in New Zealand," said McClennan.

"This is the biggest occasion of our players' lives. There's a couple of them who've been in a World Cup final before, but most of them haven't."

Australia have looked in ominous form after their slow start to the tournament, comfortably seeing off Great Britain.

Utility back Wing is set to play with a custom-made guard to protect a sternum injury.

"If Craig Wing is fit, he'll play and we're pretty confident," said Kangaroos coach Wayne Bennett.

"Craig Gower is pretty close to 100% so the issue is whether we bring Steven Price in."

Wing, Gower and Price, the prop who missed out on selection for last week's game against Great Britain, have all been named in Australia's 19-man squad.

Bennett also said he was worried about the weather conditions for the final with snow and extremely cold winds forecast.

"The conditions will be totally foreign to us if it gets as bad as they say it's going to get," said Bennett.

"We've just got to hope the weather forecasters here are as bad as they are back home - we might be lucky.

"It would be difficult for New Zealand as well because they basically all play in the NRL as well.

"You can wear vests under your jerseys but, other than that, there's not a lot you can do."

Crowds are down on last year's sell-out after Great Britain failed to qualify.

Organisers report that 25,000 tickets have been sold; Elland Road has a capacity of 40,000.

Source: BBC SPORTS ONLINE - http://www.bbc.co.uk

[DIEHARD]

Gillette Tri Nations Pre Match on GBTV

Australia?s stand-in skipper Danny Buderus has once again proved a more than capable replacement for the injured Darren Lockyer.

The Newcastle Knights hooker has been a leading figure in Australia?s charge to the Gillette Tri-Nations Final and Super League TV spoke to the Kangaroo?s current Captain ahead of Saturday?s showdown with the Kiwis?..

Windows Player - http://www.superleague.co.uk/pub/video/trinationsfinalprematch.wvx

Real Player - http://www.superleague.co.uk/pub/video/trinationsfinalprematch.ram

Source: http://www.superleague.co.uk/

[Coaster]

Gee i love Fox IQ :emp:

[DIEHARD]

Looks like Jones is back with the Kiwis now. Flown in after the birth of his boy.

Kiwis looking for Jones spark

Talisman Stacey Jones rejoined the New Zealand squad in Leeds on Friday as they prepared to pull off what coach Brian McClennan says would be "the biggest upset in the history of rugby league".

Scrum-half Jones jumped on a plane in Auckland after attending the birth of his first boy and flew 12,000 miles to link up with the Kiwis ahead of Saturday's Gillette Tri-Nations Series final against holders Australia at Elland Road.

The 29-year-old former captain, who came out of retirement initially to play in the opening two games, will defy the effects of jet lag to maintain an unlikely ever-present record in the tournament.

The little general's long-haul trek illustrates his importance to the New Zealanders. Without his organisation and clever kicking game, it is widely acknowledged they have little chance of gaining their first series triumph over the Kangaroos for 52 years. Even with him, McClennan says their prospects are slim.

"It would be the biggest upset in the history of rugby league," insists the coach, who is ignoring his side's historic 38-28 win over the Aussies in Sydney six weeks ago.

"It doesn't matter what you did in the rounds. Grand Finals are different. That doesn't count for anything. The fact that they've had 30-40 years of total dominance of rugby league is what counts.

"Great Britain went really well against Australia last year but look what happened in the final. We've got to fight so hard just to stay in there and hopefully we get the bounce of the ball now and again."

The Kangaroos blew the Lions away with a blistering opening at Elland Road 12 months ago but coach Wayne Bennett is not expecting a repeat of their runaway 44-4 victory.

He is wary of the Kiwis' threat and is not fooled by McClennan's attempt to gain full value from their underdog tag.

"They love that," said Bennett. "They get up on it, it's part of their psyche.

"There is never a good time to play the Kiwis. They're more than capable. After three games, they were the form team of the competition. They were playing really well and I'm sure playing Australia will help them get back to where they were."

The Kiwis went close to completing the double over the holders, losing by two points in Auckland, and smashed the Lions 42-26 in London a week later but they almost crashed out of the tournament when they went down 38-12 to Great Britain at Huddersfield.

They also struggled to overcome France last weekend but McClennan agrees with his counterpart that playing the arch enemy is certain to bring out the best in them.

"I think we have flattened out a bit but Kiwis will play harder against Australia than they will against Great Britain," he said.

"The rivalry is far greater, that's a fact, and the reason is they're right next door to us. Our players are at clubs with Australians, it's mate against mate. It's funny in sport but you always play harder against your mate for some strange reason. It's an international state of origin.

"There's a sparkle in their eyes straight away. In all sports, everyone in New Zealand is saying we've got to beat these bloody Aussies because they've been so dominant in a lot of sports over the years.

"We would love nothing better than to do something positive for international rugby league. Back home, they understand what we're up against, they've seen many times Great Britain and New Zealand fall at the last hurdle against Australia. I think most people would be shocked if we win because the magnitude of it is huge."

While Jones will win his 40th cap, Saturday's match marks the 50th Test appearance of Kiwi captain Ruben Wiki, who became the most-capped international player of all time earlier in the series.

"Ruben won't be thinking about the 50th Test," said McClennan. "He always puts the team first and he would swap everything for a win. They all would."

Bennett paid his own tribute to the 32-year-old front row forward, saying: "It's a wonderful achievement. He's a great player. He has been one of the outstanding players of the tournament, he was great in the two Tests against us."

Source: http://www.SuperLeague.co.uk

Jones on a high after the birth of his son and Wiki playing his 50th Test...could be the foundations of a stunning upset! I bloody hope not!

[Ipswich Fan]

Australia have named Price ahead of Waterhouse which i believe is a good move.

[Steelers]

Less than 24 hours to wait now :D

[DIEHARD]

Only 20 mins now. Anyone else around?

Surely I am not the only one up this early!

Got the VCR ready.

Will Australia continue it's invincibility? I hope so!

[Ipswich Fan]

Only a few minutes to go.

[DIEHARD]

Jesus two tries to NZ.

See that brawl!?!? See that hit by Tate on Kidwell?!!?

COME ON KANGAROOS! PUT THESE DIRTY KIWIS AWAY! :box:

[DIEHARD]

Seems to be a fantastic crowd on hand as well.

[DIEHARD]

Excuse the lack of posts, I'm far too into this game...

[DIEHARD]

OMG....WE ARE BEING BLITZED HERE!!!

Vatuvei scores his 2nd try.... 12-nil kick to come....

Jesus christ.....

[Ipswich Fan]

If Tate & King are better wingers than Grothe then i am a very poor judge. The Aussies are in big trouble at the moment.

[DIEHARD]

Mason concedes a penalty right in front of our posts....Jones gets the penalty goal....

It is now 14-0 against the Kangaroos... :')

[Ipswich Fan]

I think the Tri-Nations is slipping away.

[DIEHARD]

I think the Tri-Nations is slipping away.

And nearly....three decades of inivincibility!? I'm feeling sick!

[DIEHARD]

OH FFS. Jones gets another penalty goal....

16-nil

:') :') :')

[Ipswich Fan]

It's certainly not a good feeling.

[DIEHARD]

It's certainly not a good feeling.

If we lose, Ill be sucked into a black hole into another demension. I can't live in a world where the Kangaroos aren't #1. I was born seeing them win. :erm:

Come on Aussies! Do 'em Ned Kelly style!

[Ipswich Fan]

16-0 at half-time. The Aussies need to get back to the basics. Ball control, stopping the NZ 2nd phase play & keeping their discipline in tact. As we saw in Sydney one try can turn the game but the Aussies have to make sure that they score next & it must come early.

[DIEHARD]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/diehard2/halftime.jpg

[Ipswich Fan]

There has been a momentum shift early in the 2nd half but Australia can't get across that line.

[DIEHARD]

Webb is in for the Kiwis....20-nil kick to come.

Come on Kangaroos, if you are going to go down, go down fighting like Aussies, do us proud!

[Ipswich Fan]

The Tri-Nations are gone now. A poor decision by the video ref to allow that try.

[DIEHARD]

I'm stunned...

[DIEHARD]

Jones gets the goal. 22-nil...

This is humiliation.

I bet Lockyer is glad he isn't captain of the team to break our golden run...

[Ipswich Fan]

Tate is injured & won't return.

[Ipswich Fan]

A poor error by O'Meley, the Aussies are gone.

[DIEHARD]

A poor error by O'Meley, the Aussies are gone.

I just can't accept this. This is surreal...

[Ipswich Fan]

This is the worst performance i can ever remember from an Australian side.

[DIEHARD]

Jones penalty - 24-nil...

[Ipswich Fan]

19 minutes to go & unfortunately i can't see the Aussies scoring a point.

[Ipswich Fan]

Jones missed a field goal that would've definately ended the game.

[DIEHARD]

Looks like that is it. Australia's dominance is over...

[Ipswich Fan]

Another simple error followed by a stupid penalty, the Aussies can't get any worse.

[Ipswich Fan]

I can't believe that the New Zealand Warriors have never looked at Brian McLennan as their head coach.

[Ipswich Fan]

NZ have run out emphatic 24-0 winners. The Aussies turned in a very inept & embarrassing performance but full credit to Brian McLennan & his squad for ending Australia's three decades of rugby league dominance.

[Titans#1]

New Zealand 24 Australia 0
New Zealand has broken Australia's 27-year stranglehold on international rugby league by thumping the Kanagaroos in the overnight Tri-Nations final at Elland Road.

The Kiwis ran in four tries to nil against an error-riddled Australia, which lost its first series since 1978.
It was New Zealand's first-ever win against Australia on British soil in seven attempts, and also the first time in 20 years the Kangaroos have been held scoreless in a rugby league international. New Zealand beat Australia 18-0 in Auckland in 1985.

Centre Paul Whatuira gave New Zealand a 4-0 lead four minutes into tonight's final before Manu Vatuvei crossed twice in the 21st and 26th minutes to give New Zealand a 16-0 lead.

Halfback Stacey Jones, who only flew back from Auckland yesterday after returning home for the birth of his third child, missed all three conversions in the first half, but added two penalties before the break.

Fullback Brent Webb extended New Zealand's lead to 22 points 12 minutes into the second half, before Jones added another penalty six minutes later.

NEW ZEALAND: 24 (M Vatuevi 2, P Whatuira, B Webb; S Jones 4 goals)
AUSTRALIA: 0
Elland Road, Leeds.

Honestly, I can't wait for this year to be over, and let Australia get back to it's great sporting self!

[Ipswich Fan]

Who would've picked at the start of the year that the one Aussie sporting side to have success would've been the Socceroos.

[Titans#1]

Who would've picked at the start of the year that the one Aussie sporting side to have success would've been the Socceroos.

The Australian Sporting world has turned upside-down..... It's just AMAZING that everything we should have won, we lost.


Are we getting too c0cky?

[Ipswich Fan]

A combination of things, ****iness is probably one plus the fact that the rest of the world are starting to catch us. Compared to most countries in the world we only have a small population base which makes it a miracle that we can be so good in so many sports. You look, our cricket side have dominated for a decade, our rugby league side for three plus in that time we have also been up at the top in rugby union, netball & had two males at the top of the tennis world, as much as it hurts we just can't keep dominating all these sports.

[Titans#1]

Don't forget the swimming team and the fact that our Aussie Girl won Bronze at the Gymnastics the other night! It could be that 2007 is the start of the reign of Australian "underdogs", here's hoping we all have new international sports to cheer for!

[Ipswich Fan]

Two more sports which i'd forgotten about which further prove my point. The ARL have to come home & seriously think about what went wrong on that tour & address it. I think that this will add further spice to next year's Tri-Nations although down here i think the British will struggle to compete more than what they did in the series just completed.

[Go_The_Doggies]

Go The Kiwis

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well Kimmeh said that yesterday... and well done to the Kiwis and to Brian McClennan.. that was a very strong performance and they were a much better side on the day... I guess you can't win them all.. and hey it has been a good run.. we will just have to cop this one of the chin.. we just weren't good enough.

CONGRATS KIWIS FOR SHOWING THE RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WINNING TEAM IN THE COMP.. :)

[Teegy]

I like to see the kiwis win every now and then because it gets boring with Australia winning all the time. congrats to the Kiwis

[In-Cyde #1]

I like to see the kiwis win every now and then because it gets boring with Australia winning all the time. congrats to the Kiwis

I agree. Winners are grinners and losers can please themselves.
The only real problem that I have is that we lost to the 'Kiwis' lol. :laugh:

[Go_The_Doggies]

Well Kimmeh said that yesterday... and well done to the Kiwis and to Brian McClennan.. that was a very strong performance and they were a much better side on the day... I guess you can't win them all.. and hey it has been a good run.. we will just have to cop this one of the chin.. we just weren't good enough.

CONGRATS KIWIS FOR SHOWING THE RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WINNING TEAM IN THE COMP.. :)
LOL...it aint Kimmeh no more, its KIMMSTA haha :laugh:

[Super Cronk]

Pretty peed off at the way we played in the final. NZ were great in defence and their dummy half runs really stuffed us up. Congrats to NZ tho...they were great.

[Go_The_Doggies]

Raaa...i still cant kind of believe we won:D...November 27 should be a day of celebration for all kiwi fans haha :D

[Steelers]

NZ played awesomely all series and thoroughly deserved to win. AUS played very poorly in poor weather, but that is no excuse. NZ were just too good for us. I cannot wait until the World Cup!

[DIEHARD]

Yea New Zealand were definitely the team of the series...