Don’t expect Kangaroos centre Kotoni Staggs to unleash his trademark “this is our home” celebration at Suncorp Stadium if he scores a try against New Zealand in Sunday night’s Rugby League World Cup final.

“I’ll keep that with the Broncos,” the Brisbane star said on Thursday when asked about the way he celebrates scoring tries at the “Cauldron”, particulary in derbies against the Dolphins.

Not that Staggs isn’t embracing the chance to be part of a World Cup final-winning team on “home” soil.

“That’s my home ground. It’s probably the best stadium to play at,” he said.

“The crowd gets behind you. I’ve got a lot of good memories there, and I’ll be taking that into the game, (but) I still know that I’ve got to do my job and play my best.”

Staggs has been a constant in the Kangaroos team throughout the World Cup despite an indifferent NRL season with the Broncos, who flopped in the defence of the premiership they won in 2025.

“It wasn’t the season that I wanted to have in club land, but I knew that I had to keep training hard, and I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said.

Staggs is fully aware that having his former Broncos coach Kevin Walters as Kangaroos mentor has helped his selection cause in a starting team that has no room for Souths star Latrell Mitchell.

“Kev stuck with me from (last year’s) Ashes series as well, and from my time at the Broncos with Kev as well, I’ve probably played some of my best footy underneath him,” Staggs said.

“He gets the best out of me. He had a bit of trust in that as well. I’m grateful to be in this team and starting on the weekend.”

Staggs’ form has improved as the tournament has progressed, as has been the case for the Kangaroos as a collective.

“At the start, we came from different systems, so we were trying to learn what’s comfortable for us in this Australian team,” he said.

“As the World Cup’s gone on, we’ve connected a lot more.

“Firstly it’s probably our defence. There were a few times where we lacked in our defence, but I think we’ve gotten a lot better.

“We’ve got a lot more trust on the edge. It’s just a communication thing. We’re on all on the same page.”

Originally published as Kotoni Staggs shelves trademark Broncos celebration ahead of World Cup final at Suncorp Stadium