Reece Walsh scored a hat-trick as Australia beat Samoa 44-12 in the men's Rugby League World Cup semi-final at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, booking a place in next weekend's final against New Zealand.
The Kangaroos answered questions raised by three unconvincing performances, with their forward pack matching Samoa's ferocity and a completion rate of nearly 90% while holding their opponents to just one line break.
Samoa's early promise fades
The pre-match Siva Tau brought the two sets of players face to face, with Samoan winger Brian To'o meeting the forehead of Australian prop Tino Fa'asuamaleaui. The ceremony ended with nods of mutual respect, setting up one of the tournament's most anticipated clashes.
Samoa's commitment was clear when Fa'asuamaleaui was met by six tacklers on the first carry, and a high shot on Jermaine McEwen forced a penalty that left Australia defending their line two minutes in. But when Stephen Crichton was ruled by the video referee to have lost the ball, momentum swung.
Walsh takes over
From the scrum, Tom Dearden found a hole between Jazz Tevaga and Francis Manuleleua to score, vindicating coach Kevin Walters' selection at No 7. Keaon Koloamatangi, a late swap into the starting lineup, surged through the middle to set up Jacob Preston for a second try after 14 minutes.
Walsh dropped a Ronald Volkman bomb early in the second half to give Crichton a four-pointer, but then spun through the Samoan line from a Harry Grant pass. He completed his hat-trick with a try set up by Cam Munster, finishing with a half-swan dive half an hour after Walters had declared on the broadcast his priority was to avoid further acrobatics.
Bunker decisions and a one-sided finish
Samoa were unfortunate with bunker decisions, including a disallowed effort from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, but those calls would not have altered the result. Just before half-time, Cameron Murray opened space for Bradman Best to score, and Spencer Leniu was sin-binned for an outburst at referee Adam Gee.
The margin at the break was four converted tries, a let-down to the passionate crowd of 41,529. Samoa improved after the break but were never in the contest. The men's final is a rematch of the tournament's opener, when Australia were lucky to escape with a win, but this performance showed the favourites stirring.
