{"id":257501,"date":"2025-11-02T12:01:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T12:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/257501\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T12:01:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T12:01:15","slug":"rugby-league-ashes-2025-second-test-the-mole-player-ratings-tino-faasuamaleaui-performance-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/257501\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby league Ashes 2025, second Test, The Mole player ratings: Tino Fa’asuamaleaui performance, contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kangaroos clinched the three-match Ashes series inside two games<\/a>, but it was hardly the most convincing performance.<\/p>\n

Both sides tried to antagonise each other at Hills Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, with three sin bins throughout the match.<\/p>\n

Australia’s attack was clunky in the first Test but it didn’t look to have improved too much by the second.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Pitch invader ‘Jarvo’ arrested for Kangaroos anthem stunt<\/a><\/p>\n

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READ MORE: World’s best jockey faces uphill battle after Cup barrier draw<\/a><\/p>\n

Ultimately, Kevin Walters’ men defended to almost perfection with all of England’s points coming via penalty goals.<\/p>\n

Wide World of Sports’ The Mole has rated every England player. <\/p>\n

1. Reece Walsh<\/p>\n

Nowhere near as dominant as in the First Test – four handling errors, three penalties, a sin bin and just 71 run metres. Rating: 5.5<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kangaroos and England players clash.\u00a0NRL Photos<\/p>\n

2. Mark Nawaqanitawase<\/p>\n

Got few chances against the better English defence but still came up with over 120 run metres and a couple of handy touches. Rating: 6.5<\/p>\n

3. Kotoni Staggs<\/p>\n

Came up with one of the big plays of a tight Test – the bomb bat-back that led to Young’s try that sealed the game. Rating: 7.5<\/p>\n

4. Gehamat Shibasaki<\/p>\n

Another Aussie who had few opportunities due to England’s stouter tackling – just six runs for 65 metres. Rating: 5.5<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 rugby league Ashes series live and free on Nine and 9Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Josh Addo-Carr<\/p>\n

Had little time in the red zone but ran the Aussies out of trouble a couple of times from deep inside their own territory. Rating: 6<\/p>\n

6. Cameron Munster<\/p>\n

Deservedly took out the man of the match – some crafty plays and his show-and-go try early in the second half put the Aussies on track for the series win. Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cameron Munster.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

7. Nathan Cleary<\/p>\n

Again allowed Munster to play the lead ballplaying role but his pin-point bomb led to the try that sealed the win. Rating: 7<\/p>\n

8. Lindsay Collins<\/p>\n

Elevated to the starting side but played just 22 minutes with little impact. Rating: 4<\/p>\n

9. Harry Grant<\/p>\n

Clever out of dummyhalf but seemed on the angry pills – involved in several scuffles, particularly with his opposite Jez Litten. Rating: 7<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Harry Grant.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui<\/p>\n

With his future up in the air, slightly off his game – just 70 run metres and a stint in the sin bin after a brawl. Rating: 6.5<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui helps tackle AJ Brimson.\u00a0NRL Photos<\/p>\n

11. Angus Crichton<\/p>\n

Backed up his two-try display in the First Test with another outstanding game, topping both the Aussie tackle count and run metres. Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

12. Hudson Young<\/p>\n

Scored the try that secured the Ashes after picking up the scraps of a bomb but missed an uncharacteristic eight tackles. Rating: 6.5<\/p>\n

13. Patrick Carrigan<\/p>\n

Replacing the injured Yeo at lock, had a busy game, never far off the ball in attack or defence. Rating: 7<\/p>\n

14. Tom Dearden<\/p>\n

Got half an hour off the bench and did some good things to keep the Aussies in command. Rating: 6<\/p>\n

15. Lindsay Smith<\/p>\n

Only got the last 14 minutes off the bench for two runs – not able to get into the game with so little time. Rating: 3<\/p>\n

16. Reuben Cotter<\/p>\n

The pick of the Aussie bench men – brought enthusiasm with over 100 run metres and some solid hits. Rating: 7<\/p>\n

17. Keaon Koloamatangi<\/p>\n

Worried the Englishmen with his size and speed when he got his chance off the bench. Rating: 6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kangaroos clinched the three-match Ashes series inside two games, but it was hardly the most convincing performance.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-257501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}