Australia dominated Samoa 44-12 at Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday to advance to a 16th consecutive men's Rugby League World Cup final. Reece Walsh scored three tries for Australia, who ran in eight total tries against a Samoa side undermined by errors and discipline issues. Australia will face New Zealand in the final in Brisbane next Sunday.
The match began with an intense confrontation during Samoa's ceremonial Siva Tau war dance, with players getting face-to-face with Australian opponents. Samoa took an early 3-0 lead when Stephen Crichton converted a penalty, but Australia quickly responded when Tom Dearden scored from a scrum. Australia added two more tries after Samoa discipline lapses gave them six-again advantages, with Jacob Preston and Tom Trbojevic scoring. Walsh added his first try and celebrated with a backflip, and Bradman Best scored before halftime to extend the lead.
Samoa's frustration grew as several refereeing decisions went against them. The most controversial came at the half-hour mark when Crichton appeared to have scored after Francis Manuleleua beat Walsh to a high ball, but replay review ruled Manuleleua had knocked on. Samoa's Spencer Leniu was sin-binned before halftime for speaking out of turn to referee Adam Gee. Samoa managed second-half tries from Crichton and Izack Tago, but Walsh responded quickly after both scores to maintain Australia's comfortable margin.
Australia, winners of the past three world titles, extended their dominance in the tournament. Walsh completed his first international hat-trick, and Bostock added a late try. Trbojevic's try was his eighth of the tournament, maintaining his position as joint-leading try scorer at the World Cup.