By Billie Eder
CommBank Stadium was a Colosseum on Sunday, and Tonga were the heroes.
Australia may have won the Pacific Championships final 20-14, but you would not have known that by the noise coming from the sea of red in the stands.
Tom Trbojevic grabbed two tries, while the masterclass put on by young playmaker Tom Deardenwas seriously impressive.
But the atmosphere created by the 10,000-plus Tongan fans, who broke out in hymns at regular intervals throughout the match, took the breath away.
The cacophony went to a different level when Sione Katoa scored the opening try in the sixth minute. The roar was just as loud when Haumole Olakau’atu revived the game with a try in the 57th minute, when Eliesa Katoa scored to cut the Kangaroos’ lead to just six points with six minutes left, and when the Tongans had 44 seconds to go the length of the field tosend the game into extra time.
The crowd cheered their team on like gladiators – Felise Kaufusi the battering ram, Katoa the acrobat, and Olakau’atu the enforcer. But after a valiant win against New Zealand last week, Tonga’s fairytale came to an end at the hands of a Kangaroos side that was too experienced, too quick, and stacked with some of the best players in the game.
The Kangaroos lift the trophy.Credit: Getty Images
Tongan coach Kristian Woolf said his side had paid the price for failing to take their chances, but was proud they had taken the contest down to the wire.
“I thought our effort was outstanding, and that’s the only thing I can ask for of the team, is they give their absolute best effort,” Woolf said.
“That’s what we’ve seen out there tonight, and they never stopped fighting, they never stopped trying, and gave themselves a chance on the back off the that...there were chances that if we get them right, it makes it a little bit different, it puts a little bit more pressure on [Australia].
“There were a couple of other things we just didn’t quite execute, but at the end of the day, I’m really proud of them.”
Elisa Katoa touched down to set up a grandstand finish.Credit: Getty Images
Trboejvic was denied a first-half double, only to grab his second try early in the second half. He looked to have scored a hat-trick but officials ruled there had been a forward tip-on earlier in the play.
Dearden played some of the best football of his career, with three line-breaks and three try-assists to his name by time the full-time siren sounded, while the class of Isaah Yeo, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Harry Grant permeated all parts of the game.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said Dearden’s performance had justified his selection.
“His confidence has over the three games,” Meninga said. “It’s just his belief that he belongs in this arena, he belongs in that six jersey. It probably took him three games to get where he was today, but he was outstanding today.”
The intensity of the occasion took its toll on Tonga as the match wore on, and their players bent over with their hands on their knees, sucking in deep breaths after Xavier Coates scored to give the Kangaroos the lead for the first time in the match in the 25th minute.
But then the crowd broke out in song. It was like scene from a classic movie, and it gave the Tongan players a second wind. They won a repeat set 10 metres from the Kangaroos line as thousands of fans sang Eiki Koe ‘Ofa ’A’au.
You almost expected the game to go into slow motion as the chorus rang throughout the stadium. And then, Katoa dropped the ball over the line, and you were brought back to reality.
After Australia’s run of four straight tries, Tonga clawed their way back into the match with edge back-rowers Olakau’atu and Katoa scoring back-to-back tries to cut the gap to 20-14.
The Tongan crowd never stopped believing, even when Coates took the aerial route to score in the 80th minute, and their prayers were answered when officials ruled the Storm winger had lost the ball in the act of grounding it.
But with less than a minute to go and a full set up their sleeve, Tonga’s dream came to an anticlimactic end as Katoa was taken into touch and the Kangaroos celebrated on the sideline.
Jillaroos back on top after revenge mission over Kiwis
Billie Eder
A year after the Kiwi Ferns dealt the Jillaroos a shock defeat in the Pacific Championship final, Australia put on a masterclass to exact revenge in style.
The game was as good as won in the opening eight minutes, as Tarryn Aiken and Tamika Upton combined to put Julia Robinson over for the first try of the game. It demonstrated the ease with which the star-studded Jillaroos can score points, and if the Kiwi Ferns had any intention of retaining the championship, they showed no signs they were capable of doing so.
New Zealand were sticky in attack and their end-of-set plays messy, with halves Tyla King and Gayle Broughton struggling to give the team direction.
It was chalk and cheese compared to the Jillaroos pairing of Aiken and veteran Ali Brigginshaw, with the two orchestrating a comfortable victory to reassert Australia’s status as the No.1 side in the women’s game.
The Jillaroos have now won their past three Pacific Championships games by a combined score 122-4 and will face their next opponents, England, in Las Vegas in March.
“You always want to train and play like we are No.1, and I would see us still at No.1,” co-captain Kezie Apps said after the emphatic win.
Isabelle Kelly and Tarryn Aiken with the Pacific Championships trophy.Credit: NRL Photos
“We train really hard, we’ve got really great girls and a really great culture here at the Jillaroos. I just feel like we’ve had a really good preparation this last three to four weeks, everyone’s really bought into it. It’s been probably the best campaign that I’ve been a part of.”
In her 25th Test for Australia, Brigginshaw showed the value of experience, with a crucial 40/20 before half-time to get the Jillaroos out of their own end and leading to a Tiana Penitani try.
Upton again proved why she’s often described as the best player in the game, with a spectacular individual try after the break to put the Jillaroos well and truly on top. The star fullback was out for redemption after an earlier error almost gifted New Zealand a try and had the Jillaroos defending a full set on their own line.
The Kiwis were lucky not to be kept scoreless for the second time in two weeks, with Leianne Tufuga going over for a consolation try two minutes shy of full-time.
“Tough day for us,” said Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry. “Towards the back of the game, we sort of figured things out but we’d dug ourselves a bit of a hole.“
with AAP
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