Mal Meninga hails Kangaroos as a ‘great footy team’ after they clinch Rugby League World Cup glory

Mal Meninga hailed the Kangaroos as a ‘great football team’ and praised their effort after Australia retained the Rugby League World Cup for a third consecutive year by beating Samoa 30-10.

But his counterpart Matt Parish called referee Ashley Klein ‘weak’ after veteran NRL official Angus Crichton failed to send off in the final at Old Trafford.

The Aussies led 14-0 at half-time in the decider on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) and survived Crichton’s sin-bin early in the second half to lose comfortable winners.

Australia won the Rugby League World Cup by beating Samoa 30-10 in the final

Speaking after the Kangaroos’ 16-14 win in an epic semi-final win last week, Meninga suggested his team could do even better on the biggest stage of them all and his faith was rewarded with a sparkling performance.

Australia were at their brutal and clinical best in the first 40 minutes, blowing away Samoa after the Pacific Islanders had the better of the opening exchanges.

“It’s fantastic, it’s one of those games […] the first half was exceptional,” the Kangaroos boss told BBC Sport after the final whistle.

“In the second half we got through defensively well, one man behind. That’s the mark of a great football team, committed to each other. You know, [I’m] very happy for the boys.

Mal Meninga (centre) praised his players as a ‘great football team’ after they defended the title

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia had not played a test in nearly three years when they opened their tournament last month with a 42-8 victory over Fiji.

Despite falling to No. 4 in the world rankings, the Kangaroos were the overwhelming favorites to win the World Cup and ahead of the final, Meninga spoke about the importance of constantly raising the bar in the face of expectations.

His players rose to the challenge, and the Queensland legend, who won the 1992 World Cup as Australia’s captain, paid tribute to his troops.

“They are devoted to each other. There is respect and humility for our jersey, for the opposition,” he said.

Australia took the lead in the first half thanks to a Latrell Mitchell effort

“We played our best game tonight. We’ve had a long year, but tonight we were rewarded for our efforts. What a way to end our 2022 season.”

Meninga praised James Tedesco, after the Kangaroos skipper scored two tries and finished with 202 yards and eight tackles from 20 runs in a performance that saw him named Player of the Match.

“Tedesco was everywhere,” he said.

James Tedesco quickly doubled Kangaroos’ advantage with a breakaway attempt

The Aussie skipper made a great second effort deep into the second half to see his team home

“He led the team very well through the week […] the way he trained and his conversations were exceptional.”

The most controversial moment of the final came in the 45th minute when Crichton carried the ball and braced himself for contact from Samoan hooker Chanel Harris-Tavita.

The Australian back-rower cocked his elbow and made contact with Harris-Tavita’s jaw, who immediately fell to the ground.

Australia lost Angus Crichton to a sin-bin due to an elbow strike early in the second half

Samoa coach Matt Parish felt the incident deserved a harsher punishment instead

Klein sent Crichton to the sin bin, but Parish argued that there should have been a more severe punishment.

“Five minutes into the second half and our hooker gets elbowed in the head and taken off,” Parish said.

The referee made a weak decision to throw him in the bin. [I’m] dumbfounded.

“An elbow to his head and he’s out of the game.”