By Tony Wright
The Kiwis have had their final training run ahead of tomorrow morning's Four Nations opener against the Kangaroos in Warrington.
Both sides say the neutral venue and expected wet weather should make it a tight contest, and the Kangaroos admit a wet surface could play into the Kiwis’ hands.
Kangaroos halfback Cooper Cronk says a slippery ball “might change the way that we wanna play and the Kiwis might wanna play too, so it might be quite a physical contest”.
The Kiwis have been staying dry after with management enforced an alcohol ban following their embarrassing 42-6 loss to Australia in Newcastle.
Coach Stephen Kearney says “it’s not about where we're playing the opposition, it's about what we need to get right”, and captain Benji Marshall agrees.
“Those new guys who played their first game were probably our best,” he says.
“A lot of the senior players needed to wake up, and I’ve seen the change in attitude this week.”
He’s warned the Kangaroos the ‘real’ Marshall is in town, saying he’d “like to take a lot more control this week, and really take over and direct the boys around and play a bit more like a halfback”.
Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens has resisted the urge to rush back injured star Greg Inglis, but skipper Darren Lockyer says they're still ready for the inevitable Kiwis backlash.
“We're ready… we also know that the Kiwis will come a lot better prepared this time round.”
The TAB has the Kiwis as $4.50 outsiders, and they might well be worth a cheeky punt.
3 News