Rugby League: Aussies blow Kiwis away in second half

12.15am - By PETER JESSUP

The Kiwis hung tough in the test last night but could never overcome the first half losses of key players Robbie Paul and Nathan Cayless, fatigue killing them as the Kangaroos turned an 11-10 lead at the break to a 37-10 blow-out.

The lack of a decent kicking game cost the Kiwis dearly in Newcastle. So did errors.

But "the worst team to come out of the Shaky Isles," as they were labelled, be damned.

They showed the right spirit - they just ran out of gas, allowing the Kangaroos in for repeat easy four-pointers. But the showing, after the drama of injury and suspension withdrawals, showed the gap with the Aussies is closing. The score did not tell the story of effort and come October it could well be a different story again when the venue is across the Tasman. The Kiwis haven't won in Australia since 1991 and playing the game in front of a parochial Newcastle crowd gave them a fourteenth player, the fans reacting to the Kiwis only for their mistakes.

The bad news that had dogged the Kiwis all week stuck with them at the start of the game when captain Cayless was KO'd and suffered injuries to his mouth, going off after three minutes.

The Aussies had all the early running as the Kiwis gifted errors, their first from the kick-off when Jason Cayless was about to stop the ball with his boot and Nigel Vagana came in to pick it up but knocked on. Sione Faumuina knocked on in their next set of six. But it was David Kidwell who scored first at six minutes after the Kiwis made ground through a penalty for a poor 10 metres and Thomas Leuluai cut the line, dummied and found support.

The Kangaroos replied five minutes later when Shane Webcke took three tackles and off-loaded to create the overlap, Anthony Minichiello running the cover in and out to score wide.

Then, as the Kiwis looked likely to reply, Robbie Paul was flattened by a head clash with opposite Danny Buderus, holding up the game for five minutes.

Minichiello was the villain for the home team at 18 minutes when Nigel Vagana's last-tackle kick bounced off an Aussie player back to him, he re-booted it and the Kangaroo fullback fumbled the take over the sideline. From the scrum 12m out the Kiwis sent two wide passes and found Lesley Vainikolo with only his man Michael De Vere to beat and he ran straight over the top of him.

The Kiwis were shocking Australia with heavy gang-tackling. But the numbers paid off for the home team when they quickly went to a three-on-two overlap down their right side and Timana Tahu regathered Matt Gidley's grubber down the sideline to level it at 10-10.

The Kiwis should have gone ahead again with four minutes left in the half when Kidwell, who played with plenty of enthusiasm, got his arms free in the tackle to put Clinton Toopi away. With Vainikolo unmarked outside him Toopi elected to head for the posts and was caught, the subsequent play-the-ball producing another knock-on.

Darren Lockyer, who took a lot on himself at five-eighth, slotted a field-goal as the hooter went. The Kiwis had played tough, but there was the suspicion fatigue would tell. To open the second-half scoring Brent Tate broke down the right side, fended off Toopi and beat Vagana's cover.

Paul came back on but he wasn't himself. In the next set Nathan Hindmarsh knocked the defenders back to their line, Vagana missed Craig Gower's grubber and Darren Lockyer slid in easily. And when Vagana knocked on the from a Lockyer bomb it was clear the Kiwis would never recover.

Australia 37 (A. Minichiello, T. Tahu, B. Tait, D. Lockyer, C. Gower, M. De Vere, M. Crocker tries; De Vere 4 con, D. Lockyer fg)

New Zealand 10 (D. Kidwell, L. Vainikolo tries; S. Faumuina con)

HT: 11-10