Ruthless Kangaroos cook New Zealand 26-4 in Wollongong
Damien Cook starred for Australia, while Boyd Cordner created history as the home side put New Zealand to the sword with a 26-4 bashing in Wollongong.
It's a record not even champions Brad Fittler, Andrew Johns, Danny Buderus or Laurie Daley could achieve.
On Friday night, Test captain Boyd Cordner showed why he is one of greatest leaders in rugby league history.
The Kangaroos dominant 26-4 victory over New Zealand in front of 18,104 fans at WIN Stadium in Wollongong ensured Cordner became the first New South Welshman to hold aloft trophies for leading his club, state and country to victory in the same season.
The Australian forward skippered the Sydney Roosters to a 14-8 defeat of Canberra in the NRL grand final, he led NSW to an Origin series win and on Friday night he created history by captaining the Kangaroos to victory in the Test match.
And Cordner achieved the feat by leading a new-look Australian side which included five debutants; Payne Hass, Josh Addo-Carr, Paul Vaughan, Jack Wighton and Nick Cotric.
"I actually heard off my Nan that (record) was the case, so she put the pressure on me,'' Cordner said of his achievement.
"I don't look at them things, tonight the only focus was to come and beat New Zealand.
"They got us last year and we thought it was important we come home here and get the win.
"Our first half was good, we got a bit clunky in that second half, but all-in-all it was a good performance.''
Despite the Kiwis rallying to 12-4 at halftime, the Kangaroos never looked pressured as they raced away with four tries through Addo-Carr, Tyson Frizell, Damien Cook and James Tedesco.
The Kangaroos travel to Auckland next week to face Tonga next Saturday which will complete the representative calendar for 2019.
MAJOR PAYNE
Payne Haas began this year as a teenager lumped with huge hope.
He'll finish 2019 as a 19-year-old who can lay claim as the best young forward in the world.
On Friday night, Haas became the youngest Test debutant for Australia since Brad Fittler, and like Freddy, the young Bronco left his memorable mark.
After 18-minutes, Haas had rolled through the Kiwis for 102-metres.
Phil Gould declared Friday night's debut Test was just the beginning for the Dally M Prop of the Year.
"The one bloke, more than anyone that continues to improve, is Payne Haas,'' Gould said.
"He's quite a special player. 19 years of age, playing for Australia, there's plenty more in front of him.
"Everyone saw him coming from an early age at a 16s carnival and everyone was talking about the name, Payne Haas.
WAYWARD SHAUN
Last week, Kiwis five-eighth Shaun Johnson bamboozled the world with his menagerie of footwork and skill on show at the Nines.
But in Wollongong on Friday night, Johnson failed to make the mandatory adjustment away from the short-form game.
His misfiring kicking game put New Zealand under immense pressure - particularly in the second-half when they were clinging to a 12-4 lead until the 53rd minute.
On repeated occasions, Johnson's kicks either rolled dead for a seven-tackle set or they were defused with ease by Australia's outside backs.
It was Johnson's poor kick that catapulted Australia up-field on a seven-tackle set, allowing Damien Cook to burn the tired Kiwi's defence before finding James Tedesco to score untouched.
"Johnson's punishment (for that kick) should be that he go to the middle and defend where his forwards do,'' League immortal Andrew Johns said.
JUNIOR STUFF-UP
It's difficult to be overly critical of Friday night's scheduling when only a few thousand empty seats remained inside WIN Stadium.
But why the star-filled Junior Kangaroos, who punished France 62-4, were made to play at 3.10pm on a Friday afternoon, can't be excused.
The International game has taken great strides in recent years. Here was one step back.
The Junior Roos included the headline-story of the entire week and hottest property in the game, David Fifita.
NRL stars Kalyn Ponga, Victor Radley, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Campbell Graham also featured.
Yet at a time when the code is desperate to increase participation and audience numbers, local school kids had little hope of watching the game's future poster boys given the Friday time-slot.
AUSTRALIA 26 (J Addo-Carr D Cook T Frizell J Tedesco tries L Mitchell 4 D Cherry-Evans goals) bt KIWIS 4 (C Nicoll-Klokstad try) at WIN Stadium.
Referee: Gerard Sutton. Crowd: 18,104
Originally published as Ruthless Kangaroos cook New Zealand 26-4 in Wollongong