Australia and New Zealand face off in the penultimate group stage game of the inaugural Pacific Championships Series on Saturday night in Melbourne.
The clash of the top two ranked sides in the world looks poised to be the marquee matchup of the series after both teams put considerable scores on last year's World Cup runner’s up Samoa.
After New Zealand’s impressive 50-point win over Samoa, SENZ’s Tony Kemp praised the Kiwis’ spine and singled the four players out that could prove to be the difference in the clash against Australia.
“(Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown) could be our halves pairing for years to come,” Kemp told SEN 1170 Afternoons.
“There was no Brandon Smith, Fa'amanu Brown playing at hooker for the first time (he) didn’t miss a beat.
“The spine was probably where the difference in the sides was going forward, they really sliced them up in the back.
“Jahrome Huges is one hell of a player, Dylan Brown seems to be building some combination with him, I guess it’s something the Kangaroos need to look out for.”
Looking back at the Samoa clash, Kemp reflected on the impressive showing from the backline that produced 30 of the 50 points scored.
“The edges were really good yesterday, young (Matthew) Timoko besides arguably one of the best centres that New Zealand has ever produced (Joey Manu) is a real find,” Kemp added.
“Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad from the back, taking over from Joey Manu who played fullback for New Zealand last year, played probably as hard out as well in that black jersey.
“In today’s age when you get limited Test time and limited games at the international level, when you can say the Kiwis pull off such a convincing win, you’ve got to question the international game and whether more games need to be played around Origin time.”
New Zealand travels to Melbourne for the clash with Australia on Saturday night, catch the live call of the game live on SEN from 7:00pm (AEDT).