{"id":957218,"date":"2026-11-08T16:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T16:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/957218\/"},"modified":"2026-11-08T16:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T16:12:14","slug":"rugby-league-world-cup-2026-the-moles-exclusive-ratings-kangaroos-vs-samoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/957218\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby League World Cup 2026: The Mole\u2019s exclusive ratings; Kangaroos vs Samoa"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kangaroos<\/a> appear to be saving their best until last after a comprehensive victory over Samoa<\/a> in the World Cup<\/a> semi-final. <\/p>\n

Kevin Walters\u2019 men didn\u2019t play their best during the group stage but turned it up a notch at Allianz Stadium<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kotoni Staggs and Tom Trbojevic. \u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nine.com.au\u2019s The Mole has rated every Kangaroos player from the semi-final. <\/p>\n

1. Reece Walsh\u00a0<\/p>\n

A typical Walsh mixed bag but the pluses outweighed the minuses – scored three tries, let one in and was lucky not to concede a second from an error from a bomb. \u00a0Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

2. Jack Bostock\u00a0<\/p>\n

Got few chances in good field position but scored his customary try late in the game.\u00a0Rating: 6<\/p>\n

3. Kotoni Staggs\u00a0<\/p>\n

The man who many thought should not have been there had his best game of the tournament, causing Samoa plenty of problems with his wide running.\u00a0Rating: 7.5<\/p>\n

4. Bradman Best\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like Staggs, was too big and strong for the defence out wide, scoring a try and setting up another.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

5. Tom Trbojevic\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although not a specialist winger, he\u2019s having a ball on the flank – scored his eighth try, the most by any player in the tournament – and had some other good moments.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

6. Cameron Munster\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a disappointing season at club level, is having a fine World Cup and was behind much of what Australia did in attack. In a menacing mood going into the final.\u00a0Rating: 9<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cameron Munster reacts during the first half in Australia\u2019s semi-final against Samoa in Sydney.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

7. Tom Dearden\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scored the opening try, had a hand in several others and always asked plenty of questions of the defence.\u00a0Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

15. Keaon Koloamatangi\u00a0<\/p>\n

Justified his late elevation into the starting side with an awesome first 20 minutes, bending back the defence time and again.\u00a0Rating: 7.5<\/p>\n

9. Harry Grant\u00a0<\/p>\n

Played a little within himself but his good service out of dummy half got the Kangaroos on the front foot.\u00a0Rating: 6.5<\/p>\n

10. Tino Fa\u2019asuamaleaui\u00a0<\/p>\n

Held up the big Samoan middle men well and will be a key to halting the Kiwis\u2019 go-forward in next week\u2019s final.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

11. Jacob Preston\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jacob Preston.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s most consistent player throughout the tournament was at it again, scoring a try and laying on another. Full of energy.\u00a0Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

12. Liam Martin\u00a0<\/p>\n

A quiet game by his fiery standards – maybe he is saving himself for the big one next week. Rating: 6<\/p>\n

13. Isaah Yeo (c)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t do a lot in attack but topped the tackle count and led the team well in a sometimes spiteful game.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

8. Patrick Carrigan\u00a0<\/p>\n

Made the most of his 43 minutes off the bench, leading the Kangaroos in run metres and pulling off some good shots in defence.\u00a0Rating: 7.5<\/p>\n

14. Ethan Strange\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barely touched the ball in his late three minutes of game time.\u00a0Rating: 3<\/p>\n

16. Cameron Murray\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brought plenty of enthusiasm from the bench when he got onto the field – a key member of the squad yet again.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

17. Reuben Cotter\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only got 24 minutes from the bench but was a non-stop worker throughout that stint.\u00a0Rating: 5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kangaroos appear to be saving their best until last after a comprehensive victory over Samoa in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-957218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957218","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=957218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=957218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}