Lomax was then barging through them from the flank – to think he’s insistent on playing centre at the Eels next season – to put the visitors further ahead in the 58th minute.

“I felt like our goal defence inside our 20 was exceptional again, particularly in the second half when I think we had to defend four sets in the opening 10 minutes,” Meninga said.

“It’s a great rivalry and [New Zealand] came with a really simple plan that I thought they executed really well, but I thought we handled it really well too. I’m just happy we’re in the final and can sit back and watch what I think is going to be pretty physical game [between New Zealand and Tonga].”

Australia’s defensive mettle got them out of trouble more than once when their handling dropped them in it. Angus Crichton began the afternoon with an in-goal howler to rival Sonny Bill Williams’ 2013 World Cup effort, when the cross-code star slipped over the dead ball line in Warrington.

The sold-out Christchurch crowd gave Crichton both barrels when he fumbled a casual put-down after busting the Kiwi line, bombing the opening try in Three Stooges fashion.

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Clubmate Lindsay Collins was an unlikely source of a tutorial 12 minutes later. Having been hammered in his last two games by Haumole Olakau’atu and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (who was suspended from New Zealand’s campaign as a result), Collins spied diminutive Kiwis debutant Keano Kini defending in the frontline, and charged straight through him.

Johnson, out of retirement and at times playing too laterally early on, turned New Zealand’s discipline with the ball-in-hand into points as the half-hour mark loomed.

Straightening and taking on the line, Johnson combined with Kini to send Jamayne Isaako over in the corner, with the sharp-shooting winger nailing his sideline conversion for 6-all.

Australia responded through Tom Trbojevic’s power out wide, with the Sea Eagles superstar busting the Kiwis right-edge open before the break and finding Lomax, who was once again among the Kangaroos best.

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