Just like that, the new Kiwis captain may have defined his reign. In a role where you usually find players telling their team to play smart and keep their heads, he lit the fire and watched it burn.
In recent matches it has seemed that once the Kiwis fall behind they lose their confidence and with it their ambition on the pitch.
There was no sign of that this time around.
The return of the exiled Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor was a spectacular one. The energy they brought to the pitch showed what it means to represent your country. Every run was targetted and meaningful, and allowed those playing outside some freedom.
It was a benefit to five-eighth Shaun Johnson, who played off the back of strong runs from his forwards and got to work with ball in hand. With strong options across the backline and Kodi Nikorima stepping up when asked to put boot to ball, Johnson played without fear in his running game.
And when Johnson goes looking for a dance partner, the Kiwis are better for it.
Add in some at times frantic and unproductive offloads, with some off-the-cuff kicking plays and you get a product that would appeal to league fans everywhere.
It could almost be cause to simply tell Johnson not to kick the footy - in attacking positions at least. His kicking game was mediocre at best and often let the Kangaroos off all too easily.
Sure it helped that the fresh-faced Australians weren't flash when they had the ball in their hands. Too many errors meant their two first half runaway tries were all they could muster, but this Kiwis team showed up ready to go.
They went 75 before switching off - so they're not quite there, but they're close.
As frantic as it was, there was no looking away. The Kiwis are looking to regain the support of New Zealand's harsh fairweather fans, and this performance was a great start.
