League: Taupau toast of the team

Martin Taupau lines up Kangaroos halfback Cooper Cronk in last night's Four Nations final in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images

Blockbusting Kiwis interchange forward Martin Taupau was the toast of his teammates following his dynamic performance in Saturday night's Four Nations final win over the Kangaroos in Wellington.

A worrying neck injury sustained in a two-man tackle saw the fearless 24-year-old stretchered off Westpac Stadium in the early stages of the second-half but his contribution off the bench had helped swing momentum the Kiwis' way throughout the second quarter and set the tone for the forwards for the remainder of the match.

Play was delayed for several worrying minutes as ambulance staff assessed his state and placed him in a neck brace. He was taken to hospital for a check-up before taking to social media to alleviate concerns.

The Auckland-born Wests Tigers tyro posted a message on Twitter, saying: "No need to panic peeps I just need someone to get me a bag of cement to toughen up! #manaup #allgravybaby #nobrokenneck #sekia."

Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney had injected Taupau, along with fellow bench forwards Greg Eastwood and Tohu Harris, into the game midway through the first half and their arrival coincided with a lift in energy and intensity for the home side as they clung to a narrow 8-6 lead.

Time and again Taupau threw himself into the Australian line to see would-be defenders reeling, making three tackle breaks and three offloads to initiate their second-phase play, as the Kiwis began enjoying a lift in both possession and territory.

"He's been discharged from the hospital, they sent him there for a check-up, there was a bit of worry for him obviously but by all accounts he's come through all right," Kearney said at the post-match media conference.

"Our bench has been fantastic all tournament. They come on and Marty tonight was a wrecking ball out there and he certainly continued the momentum our way."

Starting prop Jesse Bromwich praised his roommate's performance and admitted it was difficult to maintain his focus after watching on while Taupau received treatment.

"Big Marty, he was my roomie the whole time, and him off the bench before he got injured, he was awesome," Bromwich said.

"We were sad to see him go down but he was awesome when he was out there.

"It's definitely tough [to see him injured]. You can't not look at it. It's too hard [not to]. As his roomie I felt bad for him but you've got to try and switch on and move to the next job. I feel sorry for him but he played awesome."