Australia’s Kangaroos claimed their first Pacific Cup title with a 20-14 victory over Tonga in a thrilling final at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
A late surge by Tonga brought the match to a nail-biting finish, but Australia’s resilient defense held strong.
Up by 16 points with 23 minutes left, Australia appeared set for a comfortable win.
But Tonga fought back with two late tries, forcing the Kangaroos to produce critical try-saving plays to secure the victory.
The Kangaroos’ Tom Dearden earned man-of-the-match honours for his decisive plays on both offence and defence.
Tom Trbojevic also excelled, scoring two tries and recording six tackle breaks.
Tonga took an early lead with a Sione Katoa try, thanks to a set-up by Isaiya Katoa.
But Australia quickly responded, with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Xavier Coates contributing tries to build a comfortable lead.
A dislocated elbow forced Tongan centre Paul Alamoti off the field in the second half, complicating Tonga’s comeback effort.
Although Haumole Olakau’atu and Eliesa Katoa brought Tonga within six points, time ran out as Australia held on to avenge last year’s 30-0 loss to the Kiwis.

For a small country of 108,000 people with 142,000 living overseas, to be in the final with a top rugby league country of over 20 million in population, was a great achievement in itself.
Tonga was definitely the underdog. But they beat the Kiwis by one point, 25-24 to play in this final against Australia.
The “sea of red” – estimated 20,000 Tongan supporters who were at the Commbank Stadium in Sydney were happy, even with a close loosing result. Their team played a game worth the final. And they were proud of Mate Ma’a Tonga.