Fullback: Kevin Locke – Struggled to impose himself and picked off all to easy under the high ball by the Kangaroos. Rating: 5.

Winger: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – The Sydney Rooster with the dancing feet never really got the chance to show his attacking prowess after limping out of the game in the sixth minute with a leg injury. Rating: 4.

Centre: Dean Whare – Rarely involved, worked hard to make things happen but to no avail having moved to the wing early in the game. Rating: 6.

Centre: Bryson Goodwin – Struggled in defence against the Aussie onslaught after, not a game to remember for the South Sydney man. Rating: 5.

Winger: Manu Vatuvei – Almost scored a try just before halftime but faded as the game went on after a strong start. Rating: 6.

Five-eighth: Kieran Foran. Ran the ball well and never stopped trying to make things happen. The Kiwis’ best player. Rating: 7.

Halfback: Shaun Johnson – The semi-final hero failed to hit the heights of Wembley. Scored his side’s only points with a first-half penalty. Rating: 6.

Prop: Jared Waerea-Hargreaves – Failed to dominate against the Aussies’ big men but never stopped trying and did his fair share of work in defence. Rating: 6.

Hooker: Issac Luke – Produced a stunning piece of defending to hold up Cooper Cronk to deny him a try. Worked hard around the ruck. Rating 6.

Prop: Jesse Bromwich – Made some early inroads with a blocking run but, like the rest of his team, failed to build on it as the game progressed. Rating: 6.

Second-row: Sonny Bill Williams. Newly-crowed international player of the year couldn’t find a way to lift his side. Worked hard but had a rare off-day. Rating: 6.

Second-row: Simon Mannering – Tried to galvanise his side, but the skipper found it difficult to make an impression. Rating: 6.

Lock: Elijah Taylor – Worked hard as always and tackled his heart out to no avail. Rating: 6.

Interchange:

Alex Glenn – Moved to the centres after Tuivasa-Sheck and struggled to stem to green and gold tide on his side of the field. Rating: 5.

Frank-Paul Nuuausala – A few bulldozing runs in the first half and made one delicious offload to Foran but didn’t maintain it over the 80 minutes. Rating: 6.

Ben Matulino – A big talent but never really got the chance to show what he can do. Rating: 6.

Sam Kasiano – The Canterbury giant struggled with the pace at times and was outgunned by the Aussie front row. Rating: 5.