Kangaroos survive late Tonga scare as Tom Dearden leads Australia to 20-14 Pacific Cup final

Tom Dearden has shown he belongs in the do-or-die environment of Test rugby after holding his own to lead Australia to a 20-14 Pacific Cup final win over Tonga.

In front of a 28,728-strong pro-Tongan crowd at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, the Kangaroos made amends for last year’s final when they suffered the biggest defeat in their history to New Zealand.

Tom Trbojevic grabbed two tries in the middle but it was Dearden who shone brightest as he outpaced halfback Mitchell Moses on his home field and showed a ruthless edge to exploit Tonga’s defensive lapses.

If not for the injuries to Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster, the North Queensland playmaker might have been relegated to a supporting role at this tournament.

But his man-of-the-match performance against Tonga is now causing Mal Meninga a major headache as he looks ahead to next year’s Ashes series against England.

Australia were crowned Pacific Cup champions on Sunday afternoon after beating Tonga 20-14

Tom Dearden sent a big message to Mal Meninga and proved he can perform in the test match phase

“His confidence has grown in three games, and his belief that he belongs in this arena,” Meninga said.

“He belongs in the No. 6 jersey and he was excellent today.

‘But it’s all about Tom, he believes in Tom and once he gets that on a regular basis he’s going to be a great player.

“Sometimes it takes a while for players to believe they belong in this environment.”

The Tongans, fresh from last week’s victory over the Kiwis, threatened to pull off another upset when they scored with seven minutes remaining to close the gap to six points.

But Kristian Woolf’s side lacked the same level of composure as their Australian rivals after taking an early lead.

“I’m very proud of our boys, I thought our effort was excellent, and that’s all I can ask for,” Woolf said.

“There were chances we didn’t do well and that makes it a little different. We just didn’t execute it all the way.”

Tom Trbojevic also impressed, grabbing two tries during the match to seal the win

Xavier Coates produced a moment of magic when he touched down in the corner for Australia

Halfback Isaiya Katoa was the architect of his side’s opening game in the sixth minute. He scrambled across the field to set up Sione Katoa, who drove the hymn-singing Tongan crowd wild.

The Tongan number 7 couldn’t make the conversion and was offline with the boot shortly afterwards, giving Australia the chance to post a response.

A bomb for the final tackle was gobbled up by Trbojevic and the Kangaroos ran onto the pitch as Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow touched down in the corner.

“I’m really proud of Isaiya from this tournament,” Woolf added.

‘He doesn’t get everything right and is a hard marker for himself.

“He will only get better from this and I have seen how he has grown during this tournament.”

After Tonga winger Daniel Tupou had a try disallowed for obstruction, the Kangaroos stayed put and moved further forward when Lehi Hopoate was dragged into his own goal.

On the next set, Australia went left through lively Dearden and found Xavier Coates in the corner.

Dearden was the architect for Australia’s next match as the North Queensland playmaker pinballed through Taniela Paseka and Soni Luke into midfield.

Trbojevic stepped back in support and landed under the posts.

The Manly fullback was held up twice in the final two minutes of the first half by Tonga’s scrambling defense, which limited the Kangaroos’ half-time lead to 14-4.

There was heartbreak for Tonga at full-time after their late comeback

The Kangaroos celebrated full-time on the pitch after making up for their huge loss to New Zealand in last year’s final

But any glimmer of hope that Tonga could claw their way back into the match quickly disappeared when center Paul Alamoti made a tackle with a dislocated elbow.

Dearden sensed Alamoti was vulnerable and showed great awareness to attack the gap where the Tongan center should have defended himself to send Trbojevic for his second.

Australia were about to run away in the match until Tui Lolohea sent a well-weighted ball into the goal that was set up by Haumole Olakau’atu.

Eli Katoa crashed out in the 73rd minute to cut the Kangaroos’ lead to six points, but Tonga could not land a final blow to send the match to the golden point.