Kevin Walters and Isaah Yeo say the performance by the Kangaroo forwards against Samoa on Sunday night was the perfect way to hit back at critics.
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In the pool games the Australian forward pack was ridiculed by many for their lack of punch in the middle of the field, in particular against New Zealand and Fiji.
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But on Sunday night Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Keaon Koloamatangi were men on a mission as they dominated the big Samoan pack to give star backs Reece Walsh, Cameron Munster, Tom Dearden and Bradman Best plenty of opportunities to score points.
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Walters said he was “pumped” after the 44-12 thumping after he had to hear critics slam his side’s lack of punch in the middle.
“I’m not relieved. I’ve been very comfortable with how we’ve been playing and what we’ve been doing,” Walters said.
“I’ve been telling our Australian fans and people that want to support the team that this team has set out to build over the tournament and tonight was a really good performance.
“I’ve got a lot of belief in this group and the way I see it as the Australian coach is to give people opportunities and also bring them together as a group. We feel like we have more to give.”
Fa’asuamaleaui was particularly impressive, racking up 136m from 13 carries while Pat Carrigan had 16 hit-ups for 138m as no Samoan forward ran for more than 70m.
“I thought our middle forwards stood up really well. They’ve been questioned and criticised by some people, but not within the group,” Walters said.
“It (criticism) hasn’t been spoken about, it’s just the Australian way. It’s just locking together and getting things done and I thought our forwards did that tonight and that opened up you know space around the middle for our edges.”
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Skipper Isaah Yeo was a workhorse in the middle and he said the forward pack refused to worry about what outsiders were saying about them heading into the sudden-death game.
“We haven’t really delved into it. There’s been a lot of comments in and around there, but as a group we’re not taking it personal or worrying about it,” Yeo said.
“There’s no stress or inner pressure on the group that they needed to go out and perform or listen to the critics.”
The Kangaroos will face the red-hot Kiwis in the final at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night and many commentators like Luke Keary believe the New Zealand side will head into the match as favourites after they beat Tonga 34-10 in the other semi-final.
“We’re still chasing our best game and we’ll need to do that come Sunday night,” Yeo said.