Australia light up Anfield to win Four Nations final

The Kangaroos exacted revenge for the defeat they suffered in the final of the 2014 edition of the competition, running in five tries to put their rivals to the sword in front of a 40,042-strong crowd.

Australia took just two minutes to get on the scoresheet, capitalising on a promising scrum position earned through a Jordan Rapana error to quickly funnel the ball out to the right where Blake Ferguson was on hand to score.

Jonathan Thurston subsequently produced an impressive conversion - the first of his five goals, including two penalties - as the Aussies laid down an early marker.

Further scores from Josh Dugan (2) and Trent Merrin left the Kiwis trailing 24-0 at the break and needing a miraculous comeback to defend their crown on Merseyside.

Hopes of staging such a turnaround were extinguished six minutes after the restart as Darius Boyd was adjudged to have snuck over the line by the video ref.

But New Zealand quickly responded to add a shade of respectability to the scoreline, with Jordan Kahu going over after a slick exchange along the line.

Australia's dominance across the first 50 minutes appeared to have allowed some complacency to creep into their game, and the Kiwis made the most of their opponents' sloppiness as they dominated much of the closing stages.

But they had only another Kahu try to show for their efforts by the time Boyd Cordner crashed over six minutes from time to seal the Four Nations title for the Aussies.