The Australian Kangaroos warmed up the Tri-Nations final with a comfortable 33-10 win over a plucky Great Britain out-fit in Brisbane before 44,358 fans.
Perfect conditions on a fine and mild night allowed the Roos to unleash their outside backs to great effect. Brent Tate's score after the siren brought the largest ARL Test crowd since 1974 to their feet, in what will go down as one of the all-time great Kangaroo trys.
Great Britain managed a sole win for the series, but should be reasonably pleased with their efforts. Their lack of a dominating Halfback and a lack of speed in the Outside-backs was their ultimate downfall. Captain Jamie Peacock was again outstanding and was ably supported by Back-rowers Gareth Hock and Gareth Ellis who produced countless offloads on the fringe of the ruck.
The freshness of the Australian team was not lost on British coach Brian Noble, who had a sly dig at Rugby League's administrators for making his team play four games on the trot.
"We had to juggle things around through the trip, but the administrators need to give us a little bit of help in how we can prepare," he said.
The obvious solution to the problem would be to play the English Super League and the NRL grand finals on the same weekend, but both competitions are reluctant to move their dates.
The Australians now look forward to a clash with New Zealand in Sydney this Saturday night. The Kiwis, who were outstanding in their last start against Great Britain, appear to have found form at the right time. The long awaited rematch of Willie Mason and David Kidwell could be worth the admission price alone.
Australian coach Ricky Stuart, who admitted the Kiwis will be fresher, has planned a light week of training. The Roos will potentially field their strongest side since the start of the series, with Mason to return from suspension and winger Matt King likely to return from injury.
With a mouth-watering clash lined up for Sydney fans, the question remains if they will put their club loyalties to one side and show up. A poor turnout from the so-called "Home of Rugby league" will most likely result in the 2008 World Cup final heading to Brisbane.
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