Top sporting achievements of the year: Magic Johnson's five-star effort makes Kiwis Four Nations kings

A five-star man of the match performance from Shaun Johnson helped the Kiwis claim a thrilling 22-18 victory over the Kangaroos in league's Four Nations final at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.

It very nearly could have gone the other way, with a forward pass ruling denying the Kangaroos a last-minute try to rookie wing Sione Mata'utia.

But the Kiwis were the deserving winners and they looked the better side for the majority of the match.

The result gave the Kiwis their first win against Australia on home soil since 2003, three weeks after they toppled the world champions in their tournament opening clash at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.

It was the first time New Zealand has managed consecutive wins over the world champions since 1997-98 and the first time since 1953 that a Kiwis side achieved the double in the same season.

Stephen Kearney's men finished the Four Nations unbeaten after advancing through to the tournament decider after narrow home victories over Samoa in Whangarei and England in Dunedin.

The Kiwis had to overcome a poor start after the Kangaroos took an early lead through a Michael Jennings try, with veteran Kiwis wing Jason Nightingale levelling the scores early in the second quarter.

The injection of bench forwards Martin Taupau and Greg Eastwood helped the Kiwis assert their dominance in the middle of the park before a jinking run and 30-metre pass from Johnson gave Manu Vatuvei the first of his two tries for a 14-6 lead at the break.

The visitors struck back soon after the resumption with a four-pointer to Mata'utia narrowing the margin to two, before Johnson produced a brilliant play that marked his arrival as one of the game's true superstars.

The 24-year-old halfback cut through the defence out wide and showed his trademark step and speed to beat Kangaroos fullback Greg Inglis to score a stunning individual try and extend the Kiwis' lead to 18-12 with just over a quarter remaining.

Four minutes later Vatuvei bulldozed over for his second but a late score to Ben Hunt kept the Kangaroos within range, before a committed defensive effort saw the Kiwis hang on.