Kangaroos crowned Four Nations champions

Australia has secured a convincing 34-8 victory over the Kiwis at Anfield to secure their third Four Nations crown.

The Kangaroos had their first score inside four minutes, Darius Boyd feeding Blake Ferguson who raced over in the corner.

Jonathan Thurston nailed the conversion to give the Aussies a 6-0 lead.

Josh Dugan soon added his name to the scoresheet, moments after Jordan Rapana had broken the Aussie line and threatened to post New Zealand’s first points of the afternoon.

Thurston added another two for the green and gold with a successful penalty kick.

Then Cameron Smith picked out Trent Merrin who was allowed to ghost over the whitewash without any substantial resistance before Thurston converted to put the Aussies 18-0 up.

Ill-discipline from New Zealand’s Martin Taupau presented Thurston with yet another penalty, which he subsequently scored.

The first half continued to be a one-sided affair, Dugan stretching out a hand onto Thurston’s grubber to score his second try of the afternoon.

New Zealand got off to the worst start in the second half, Darius Boyd diving across in the 45th minute.

Valentine Homes was close to extending the Kangaroos’ lead in the corner after Cooper Cronk’s brilliant flick pass, but the winger was pushed out of play before grounding the ball.

New Zealand scored their first points of the game with 56 minutes on the clock, Jordan Kahu capitalizing on a slip by Greg Inglis before darting across in the corner.

Kahu cut the Aussies’ lead to 20 points with his second four-pointer of the match.

The Kangaroos moved 34-8 ahead with six minutes remaining, Boyd Cordner taking Thurston’s pass before crashing over.