Key events
- 2 hours ago
Summary
- 2 hours ago
Full time: Australia 48-4 Lebanon
- 2 hours ago
TRY! Australia 48-4 Lebanon (Martin, 68)
- 2 hours ago
TRY! Australia 42-4 Lebanon (Addo-Carr, 59)
- 3 hours ago
TRY! Australia 36-4 Lebanon (Mansour, 52)
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 36-0 (Addo-Carr, 45)
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Half: Australia 30-0 Lebanon
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 30-0 (Murray, 33)
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 24-0 (Murray, 30)
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 18-0 (Mitchell, 24)
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 14-0 (Addo-Carr, 19)
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 10-0 (Addo-Carr, 17)
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TRY! Australia – Lebanon 4-0 (Addo-Carr, 5)
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Home
- 4 hours ago
Lebanon 13
- 4 hours ago
Australia 13
- 5 hours ago
preamble
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Summary
Jonathan Howcroft
As always, thanks for joining me here. Aaron Bower’s match report can be found below, with plenty more reaction to follow over the next few days.
Australia will find out tomorrow whether they face Fiji or New Zealand in their semi-final, and I’ll be back on deck for that big hit at the same time next week.
“I’m happy to go through without injuries,” Mal Meninga tells the interviewer after the game. “We were a little clumsy with the ball, but I was happy with the effort.”
Why was Australia so full of bugs? “The ruck was slow and it was hard to build momentum,” explained Meninga. “When we did it we played well. Defensively we were solid.”
The Kangaroo coach defended Nathan Cleary, who performed well below his Penrith Panthers standard at halfback, again citing slow ruck ball.
It will be interesting to see what noises come out of the Australian camp this week and what reins Meninga pulls ahead of the semi-final with New Zealand. Discipline needs to be strengthened and some of those crucial playmaker combinations need a lot of work.
“Very special,” says Mitchell Moses in James Tedesco’s jersey, “that’s going to be in the pool room.”
During the match, Moses acknowledged that Australia taught Lebanon a lesson, but was pleased with the tournament overall and the impact the Cedars have made on international rugby league.
There is special praise for Michael Cheika and his motivational skills, championing the former Wallaby coach to one day hold a top job in the NRL.
Lebanon’s Josh Mansour takes a selfie with fans while wearing an Australian jersey. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWC
Updated at 22:01 GMT
Corey Parker on Australian TV reckons this was Australia’s poorest display of the tournament so far.
“We were let down by the poor discipline,” admits Addo-Carr as he was presented with his player of the match award. There are many delights to be had with the five trials and their tournament form, but the focus is on the most important and the more difficult tasks ahead. All Fox business.
Rival international captains and former flatmates James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses pose in each other’s shirts. The scoreline could indicate a blowout, but moments like this show how important international rugby league and nights like this are to growing the game.
Changes! Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images for RLWC
Updated at 21.25 GMT
14 errors from the Kangaroos tonight, which is a concern ahead of their two biggest challenges of the tournament.
Lebanon leaves the World Cup with its reputation enhanced. Michael Cheika did a brilliant job and motivated his troops all the way tonight, and they were rewarded with Josh Mansour’s try.
Australia’s Isaah Yeo (centre) hugs Lebanon’s Josh Mansour after the match. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 21.59 GMT
Job done for Australia, but this incomplete second half will leave Mal Meninga unsatisfied.
Full time: Australia 48-4 Lebanon
The Kangaroos are safely through to the semi-finals.
79 mins: They’re not big English rugby league fans, they’re not great.
Attendance is 8,206.
— John Davidson (@johnnyddavidson) November 4, 2022
77 min: Josh Addo-Carr, despite being rarely involved, is named man of the match. I guess five tries will do it.
In terms of pure influence, I’ve enjoyed the games of Harry Grant and Isaah Yeo.
75 mins: Collins thinks he has a try after picking up a big Grant and sliding in, but a double move is harshly ruled out, although the Australian has clearly hit the line with enough momentum to bring it safely .
72 mins: A rare heated debate in midfield with Addo-Carr taking exception to Bazzaz trying to foul Crichton on the ground. The result is a Lebanon scrum on the halfway line.
TRY! Australia 48-4 Lebanon (Martin, 68)
And from the resulting field position, Australia attack. Cherry-Evans does much of the heavy lifting with a teasing array full of defense. From the next ball, the ball goes to the right and Grant times his pass perfectly for Martin to be over the line with the red shirts hanging off him. Martin performed well tonight.
Cleary’s renaissance continues. He is now 6 for 9 after his poor start.
Australia’s Liam Martin scores his team’s ninth try. Photo: Martin Rickett/PA
Updated at 21:21 GMT
68 mins: Despite this dip in intensity, moments of individual brilliance have kept Australia in the ascendancy. The last is from Martin, who takes possession away from the Lebanese ball carrier and turns defense into attack with a quick rebound.
67 mins: And now a penalty against Trbojevic for a late scrag on Moses after the Lebanese half had lunged forward. Meninga will be smoking.
65 mins: More loose football from Australia in midfield but Grant clears at ground level. The discipline and professionalism of the first half has not been replicated since the interval.
62 mins: Australia’s error tally rises to 11 with another attack ending in a spilled pill. It’s been a sloppy second half from the Kangaroos, and it’s reinforced by a ruck penalty gifting Lebanon a seven to 20m restart. Moses goes for Hollywood’s pass early on the way down the right, but it flies over Mansour’s head and into contact.
TRY! Australia 42-4 Lebanon (Addo-Carr, 59)
The flying fox has five! Mitchell starts it all very strongly in contact in midfield to find the offload. Grant takes over, throwing his guts out with his staccato steps. As Lebanon’s defense breaks down, Munster spots acres of space in the left corner, scoops the ball in that direction from his boot and who’s there but the fastest man in rugby league, crossing at the speed of deformation to slide and touch the bouncing ball.
Cleary’s radar is now fixed and he nails another touchline conversion.
Josh Addo-Carr scores Australia’s eighth try. Picture: Mike Egerton/PAAddo-Carr (left) celebrates after scoring another try. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
Updated at 21.07 GMT
56 minutes: Morkos is ganged up on the right wing and the ball spills out of the box. The little one then crawls down. But another Kangaroos turnover invites Lebanon to counter at speed and the Cedars will soon reach Australia’s 10m line. A set reset gives them a very good look at a second attempt and as Moises dances to the right edge, this option is seen. The Eels half then earns another seven when his chip deflects off a green and gold boot, but Rajab loses possession in touch and the attack fizzles out.
TRY! Australia 36-4 Lebanon (Mansour, 52)
The Cedars do! A full set in perfect attacking territory goes nowhere, but Moses turns the gold with his kick, dropping a grubber behind Munster who makes an almighty mess of his full-back job, allowing Mansour to charge- get behind and put your fingertips on the ball. Joy for Lebanon, more questions for Meninga to ponder.
Moses drags his conversion attempt on his face.
51 mins: Australia regain possession immediately with Carrigan dropping the ball as his eyes dart to the oncoming tackle before securing the pass. A poor second half so far. Kangaroos need a speed boost.
50 minutes – a rare escape from the Cedars! Moses carries to the right touchline near halfway and when contact is made he moves forward, only to be stripped of the ball by Addo-Carr. The tournament’s top try scorer is lucky to avoid a yellow card for a professional foul. Unfortunately for Lebanon, when the attack starts on the 20m line, Robinson makes a mess of the ball and the threat fades away.
48 mins: No serious worries for Tedesco, by the way, who is on the bench nursing a sore left thigh. nothing serious
TRY! Australia – Lebanon 36-0 (Addo-Carr, 45)
Calamitós of the Cedars. 10 meters from his own line, Robinson makes a horrible pass from dummy half that bounces past Moses and skids to Mansour, who moves under pressure from Mitchell. Addo-Carr picks up the scraps and dives for his fourth try of the night. This was demoralizing for Lebanon.
Cleary scrapes in a touchline conversion that will boost his confidence.
Australia’s Josh Addo-Carr scores his team’s seventh try. Picture: Mike Egerton/PAAddo-Carr celebrates his fourth try of the game. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 20.57 GMT
44 mins: A good defensive set from Lebanon forces Cleary to take a hasty kick, and it’s not the first time tonight that he misses, sending a bomb from distance. This has not been Cleary’s night to command the midfield jersey.
42 mins: Australia are immediately in front. Grant makes a dummy-half save, a move immediately followed by Cherry-Evans, on the interval by Tedesco. This means that Cherry-Evans, Grant, Munster and Cleary are all on the park together – Munster is now in defence.
Updated at 20.34 GMT
The teams go out again for the second half. Australia, and Addo-Carr in particular, will be chasing records. Mal Meninga will hope to avoid injury.
For their part, Lebanon started strongly, dismissing the first attempt to stay in touch for the next ten minutes. Even then, as Australia racked up points, the discipline and commitment was evident…