Kiwis vs Kangaroos - Three things we learnt

Kiwis' destiny up in the air

The Kiwis won't know their Four Nations fate until next Monday morning (NZT). They need to beat Scotland - preferably by a comprehensive margin - in their match in Workington on Saturday morning (NZT) and then wait for the outcome of the England's clash with Australia at the Olympic Stadium on Monday morning (NZT). They are still well placed to make the final, but could miss out if England beat the Kangaroos and they don't beat Scotland by a decent margin

Interchange strategy a mystery

Just like it was in Perth, and to a lesser extent in Huddersfield, the Kiwis' interchange strategy was hard to follow on Sunday morning. Australian got much better value out of their bench, whereas New Zealand had a scattered approach. Prop Greg Eastwood played the first 16 minutes of the match - and wasn't seen again - while Jason Taumalolo was again over used and barely got a break. Manu Ma'u only got a short spell - even though he looked effective when on - and Jesse Bromwich again spent long periods on the sideline. The strategy needs tweaking.

New Zealand lacked a cutting edge

The Kiwis were brave in defence and solid in attack, but they lacked that polish and precision that makes the difference in test matches. They looked predictable once they reached the Australian 22, and were bereft of ideas on how to break the Kangaroos line, until they came alive in the last five minutes.