Samoa fullback Joseph Suaalii comes up against the game’s best No.1 in a mouth-watering battle.
Meanwhile, Australia’s halfback issue won’t go away on the eve of the World Cup final, with Mal Meninga’s selection policy affecting the cohesiveness of his side in attack.
And Samoa have a huge task to fill their hooker void after a second dummyhalf was ruled out of the decider in order to match Australia’s one-two punch around the ruck.
Read on for all the Burning Questions for the World Cup final.
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Samoa v England: Match Highlights | 02:52
HOW WILL HEIR APPARENT SUAALII PLAY AGAINST MASTER TEDESCO?
Samoa fullback Joseph Suaalii has his sights on being the Roosters’ long-term fullback, but Kangaroos No.1 and Tri-colours teammate James Tedesco is still arguably the best in the world.
Suaalii caused a stir when his management said their client wanted to be the Roosters’ fullback as early as next season.
However, his performances in the position for club and country early in the World Cup showed he has a long way to go in the position.
But Suaalii, like Samoa has grown into the World Cup and is starting to produce the goods in the No.1 jersey heading into the final.
Still, Tedesco is the master and big game player and he will see the final as another opportunity to show he is still one of the best players in the world, let a lone fullbacks.
Tedesco, who earned $1.1 million a season at the Roosters, has stated he would be open to a positional switch to centre or five-eighth at the back end of his career to keep Suaalii and Joseph Manu at the Roosters, but that just shows what a good leader and clubmen he is.
Privately he won’t want to give up the Roosters No.1 jersey in a hurry and the others will likely have to bide their time until he retires.
Given Manu’s brilliant World Cup at fullback, Suaalii is still at best third in line to the Roosters’ No.1 jersey.
Still, if the young gun can somehow lead Samoa to a World Cup title, the Roosters would be mad not to consider him as a fullback in the next couple of seasons if they want to hang onto him long-term.
More likely Australia will win and Tedesco will be man-of-the-match and world order will be restored at international level and at the Roosters.
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WILL CLEARY OR DCE BE THE KANGAROOS HALFBACK?
The Kangaroos are spoiled for choice with both the NSW and Queensland halfback in the squad, but neither has lit the tournament on fire to date.
Cleary had the better season in club land, piloting the Panthers to a second consecutive premiership, while Cherry-Evans’ Manly lost their last seven games to miss the finals.
Cherry-Evans started the tournament against Fiji at halfback, but hasn’t been sighted in the position since, despite playing five-eighth in the final pool game and off the bench in the semi-final.
Cleary’s goal kicking deserted him in the quarterfinal against Lebanon, while he has failed to produce a complete performance to emphatically put an end to the selection debate.
It would be a huge call for Mal Meninga to revert back to Cherry-Evans in the final just as Cleary and Munster are starting to build a combination as a partnership after playing three games together in the halves.
However, Munster and Cherry-Evans have played a lot more footy together for both Queensland and Australia in the past.
Mal Meninga has been criticised for chopping and changing his team, which has hurt the Kangaroos’ cohesion and combinations, with Australia’s attack consistently clunky over the course of the tournament.
Cleary admitted it had been difficult to nail down combinations due to the lack of footy Australia’s starting 17 have played together.
“Coming into a new team it’s pretty hard to gel straight away with new combinations, I think it’s been two games we’ve all played together so it’s always going to be a difficult task, but I feel like we’re building,” Cleary told foxsports.com.au.
“In a team like this you don’t need to be the superstar every week and you can just try and unlock other players and gel really well as a team.”
Some experts feel Meninga should have settled on his best 17 for the final pool game and carried that through until the final to develop combinations and a cohesive unit.
In Meninga’s defence Australia’s squad was littered with 12 debutants and had not played any international football over the last three years due to the pandemic, so he needed to test his options.
However, it is arguable how much more Meninga learned about his star players in three easy victories in the pool games, given he sees them every week in the NRL and perhaps the World Cup was the time to pick and stick.
There is an argument that Meninga’s inability to settle on his line-up earlier in the tournament has hindered his spine’s ability to find their best footy in attack and allow their combinations to click.
Still, Australia have run up cricket scores in all but one game against the world No.1 New Zealand side and they are 80 minutes from World Cup glory, so it is hard to be too critical of Meninga and his team.
But if Australia’s attack fails to click in the final and Samoa produce a boilover then Meninga’s selection strategy will go under the microscope and the coach will go under the blowtorch.
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CAN SAMOA COMPETE WITH HUNT-GRANT DUO TO WIN RUCK?
Samoa may struggle to compete with the twin threat of Kangaroos hookers Ben Hunt and Harry Grant after being reduced to their last hooker option for the final.
Fa’amanu Brown is set miss the final due to the tournament’s 11-day stand down concussion protocols, after he was knocked out from a head clash with teammate Oregan Kaufusi in the semi-final.
Danny Levi has already left the tournament due to personal reasons, so it is up to bench utility Chanel Harris-Tavita to be the last man standing at dummyhalf.
Harris-Tavita is not a noted hooker after spending most of his NRL career in the halves and will likely have to play 80 minutes in the middle in the final.
Harris-Tavita made a game high 44 tackles in the semi-final and only missed three, while he had 21 run metres from three runs in a brave performance after subbing in for Brown.
The former Warriors playmaker will do his country proud, but it remains to be seen if he has the firepower to match the Kangaroos’ star dummyhalves, who have the extra advantage of playing in spurts and giving each other breathers.
Hunt is coming off arguably the best season of his career and has dominated at Origin level over the past two seasons.
Grant is regarded as one of the best No.9’s in the game and looks set to be Australia’s hooker for the next decade.
The one-two punch of Hunt starting and Grant running amok off the bench as the forwards tire has proved lethal for Queensland and Australia.
Granted they will need their forwards to hold their own against Samoa’s huge pack, but if that battle is even just a draw, that will be enough to see Hunt and particularly Grant run riot and given his workload and lack of support, Harris-Tavita may struggle to keep up.
HOW WILL THE KANGAROOS DEFECTORS GO AGAINST AUSTRALIA?
Josh Papalii’i and Junior Paulo shocked the rugby league world when they passed up certain Kangaroos jerseys to defect to their native Samoa on the eve of the World Cup.
Now the twin towers will plot Australia’s downfall in the blue of Samoa, while Australia are considered to be light on for genuine front-rowers, with Manly lock Jake Trbojevic starting in the front row.
Papalii was considered a lock to play for Australia, after already playing 23 Origins for Queensland and 11 Tests for the Kangaroos in his career to date.
Meanwhile, Paulo was considered a huge chance to debut for Australia after playing nine Origins for NSW since 2020 and probably would have already were it not for the international hiatus due to the pandemic.
Paulo has had an excellent World Cup and has been inspirational in the front row, despite dodging some close calls with suspension.
Papalii has also be en strong be it starting or coming off the bench as he did against England to maintain the rage when the starters need a breather.
In another world both Paulo and Papalii could be lifting the trophy for the Kangaroos on Sunday morning (AEDT), but instead they will be crucial to Samoa’s chances of causing an upset.
In their favour, Paulo and Papalii are big bodies and that gives them an advantage over Australia’s smaller pack, with Trbojevic and Patrick Carrigan called upon to play big minutes in the middle.
However, apart from Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Australia’s smaller and more mobile pack could also work in their favour provided they can handle the size of the Samoans early.
If it is a fast game, players like Cameron Murray and Carrigan can dominate off the bench and run the big Samoans ragged.
The early stages will be crucial and Samoa can’t afford to let Australia get away to a hot start because they will be difficult to run down.
But if Paulo can get Samoa off to a strong start and Papalii can maintain the rage, a World Cup miracle is possible.
WILL LATRELL MAKE BATTLE WITH BLUES CENTRE CRICHTON PERSONAL?
Latrell Mitchell is hellbent on ticking World Cup winner off his career bucket list and coming up against Stephen Crichton, who took his Blues centre spot along with Matt Burton last season, adds an extra bit of spice to the battle.
While Mitchell was injured for the first two Origins and ruled himself out of the third, that didn’t stop him giving Burton a lesson when the Rabbitohs met the Bulldogs in the aftermath of the series loss to Queensland.
Mitchell thrives on making statements in big games and privately feels that Blues centre role is his and he will want to again ram home that point against Crichton in the final.
Mitchell made a beeline for old teammate Joey Manu with some big defensive plays in the semi-final and he will again take it upon himself to rattle the Samoans’ cages in the decider.
The South Sydney fullback’s role has changed dramatically from the facilitator and link man he is at the back for the Rabbitohs, since switching positions for the Kangaroos.
Mitchell has simplified his role in returning to the centres, where he made his name for the Roosters and the Blues at Origin level.
He looks to dominate his opposite number with his physicality in both attack and defence and Crichton and Tim Lafai will be marked men in the final as Australia look to shut down the threat of their brilliant Penrith wingers in Brian To’o and Taylan May.
Mitchell will try to win that battle with his defence, but he is also capable of producing brilliant hands to burn the Samoan edges and set Josh Addo-Carr up outside him, so Samoa will have to be on their game.
Crichton was the match winner with his two tries and a golden point field goal in the semi-final, but Mitchell presents a much tougher challenge and he looks as focused as he has been in his career to get the job done and bring the World Cup home to Australia.
CAN MILFORD LEAD SAMOA TO VICTORY OUT OF POSITION AT HALFBACK?
If there is a glaring weakness in the Samoan side it is their lack of a genuine halfback, with Anthony Milford a stopgap solution for the men in blue.
Milford has played most of his NRL career at five-eighth and fullback, save for a few cracks at the No.7 jersey.
While he has played a lot more halfback at international level, he still lacks the composure and kicking game to match the likes of Nathan Cleary and Daly Cherry-Evans.
Milford had an unhappy night against England despite the win, with four errors and three missed tackles while he only made 26 metres with his running game, which is his best attribute and he had no try or linebreak involvements.
Milford’s running game is his strength and he needs to use it in the final, but he also needs to direct his side around the park and create try-scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Milford has struggled at club level for several seasons and there are doubts he can return to the form that guided the Broncos to the 2015 final when he joins the Dolphins next season.
But if he can help cause an all-time World Cup boilover, there may be hope his best years in the NRL are not behind him.
Still, he is coming up against arguably the two best players in the NRL in Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster.
Granted Australia’s halves haven’t clicked as yet, but should they do so in the final it could be carnage for Milford and Samoa.
WILL BLUES’ SNUBS PROVE FREDDY WRONG?
Blues coach Brad Fittler was heavily criticised for leaving Josh Addo-Carr, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Jack Wighton out of the 2022 Origin series at different stages last season.
All three have bounced back from the selection setbacks to star for Australia at the World Cup and winning the final would be the ultimate redemption five months after being overlooked for the Blues.
Addo-Carr has equalled Valentine Holmes’ record of 12 tries at a World Cup and can go one better in the final to hold it outright.
He also comes up against one of the players who were picked ahead of him in Brian To’o, so if he can win against the Panthers and Blues star it would be extra sweet.
Campbell-Gillard was inexplicably overlooked after the Blues’ game one loss and was not recalled for the third game when injuries hit the Blues and Knights bench player Jacob Saifiti was preferred.
The Kangaroos prop also comes up against Junior Paulo, who was in the Blues team ahead of him, so it would be sweet if he could get one over his former NSW teammate and Queensland counterpart Josh Papalii.
Campbell-Gillard also comes up against a number of his old Panthers teammates amid rumours of a rift from the way he left the club to join the Eels.
Wighton was ruled out of Origin II due to Covid, but Fittler decided not to recall him to his 17 for the decider, which the Maroons won to clinch the series.
Wighton has been so good at the World Cup he has cemented a starting role in the centres alongside Latrell Mitchell forcing Valentine Holmes to switch to the wing.
Many experts believe Wighton should have started in the centres ahead of Stephen Crichton in the third Origin or at least grabbed a bench spot ahead of Siosifa Talakai.
While their origin snubs would be the furthest thing from the trio’s mind, a World Cup win would be the perfect way to put that disappointment behind them and finish their season on a high.
It would also give Fittler cause for a rethink and the impetus to recall the trio the next time he reads out a NSW Blues team next season.
CAN LUAI RISE OUT OF CLEARY’S SHADOW IN BATTLE WITH MUNSTER?
Jarome Luai is often criticised for riding the coat-tails of Nathan Cleary at the Panthers and he gets his chance to step out of his Penrith teammate’s shadow in the World Cup final against his club halves partner and the best five-eighth in the game in Cameron Munster.
Luai and Munster have had some big battles over the years in Penrith’s clashes with the Storm, but they don’t get much bigger than a World Cup final.
With Milford playing out of position at halfback, the onus will be on Luai to do the bulk of the playmaking and create the try-scoring opportunities for his men out wide.
Luai set up three of Samoa’s five tries in the semi-final and he will need to have a similar impact at Old Trafford given his halves partner’s struggles.
Luai will never get enough credit for what he does at club and state level given Cleary’s dominance, but he can certainly get his dues with a big performance against his Panthers’ No.7 on the biggest stage in a World Cup decider.
So too if he can outpoint rival Munster, who is in the form of his life after a massive 2022 season for the Storm, Queensland and Australia.
The war of words between Luai and Cleary has already started in the build-up to the final, but bragging rights will be on the line for wwhen they return to Penrith and four years is a long time to wait for revenge.
