Against Samoa, Australia's old power conquered the new world

Fri, 11 Sept, 7:50 pm, Final score, Rabbitohs 10, Knights 20

Sat, 12 Sept, 4:05 pm, Final score, Warriors 16, Dolphins 26

Sat, 12 Sept, 7:50 pm, Final score, Sharks 26, Cowboys 16

Sun, 13 Sept, 4:05 pm, Final score, Panthers 19, Roosters 12

Sat, 19 Sept, 7:50 pm, Final score, Roosters 46, Sharks 10

Sun, 20 Sept, 4:05 pm, Final score, Warriors 10, Knights 12

Fri, 25 Sept, 7:50 pm, Final score, Dolphins 20, Roosters 36

Sun, 27 Sept, 4:00 pm, Final score, Panthers 14, Knights 22

Sun, 4 Oct, 7:30 pm, Final score, Roosters 19, Knights 18

They say you can't fight city hall, but sometimes against Australia, it feels like you're flat out breaking a few windows.

The Kangaroos cruised into the World Cup final by turning Samoa's dream into a recurring nightmare via their 44-12 win in Sydney on Sunday night.

As New Zealand did the night before, Australia won this on the finer margins.

Spirit filled the night through the anthems, where tears again flowed freely, and the Siva Tau, which ended with Brian To'o and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui sharing a moment more powerful than words can say.

Moments like that are the big things, the reason these matches matter in the first place. And it's what makes them feel like more than a game but through the blinding emotion there is still a game to be won.

To do it when it really matters, you need to do all the little things and Australia proved it's the little things that make up life right from the start as, not for the first time, its science defeated Samoa's magic on the big stage.

Against any other team, it might not matter that Francis Manuleleua and Jazz Tevaga, two middle forwards, found themselves defend together off a scrum. It's not the done thing, but you can get away with it.

But the Kangaroo punished Samoa for that lapse when Tom Dearden took them and threw a dummy everyone knows is coming but nobody seems to know how to stop for the first try of the night.

Like the hardest teachers, Australia stressed the same lesson over and over again and Samoa's inability to change the course meant frustration took hold, which only made things worse.

Three times in the first half alone, Samoa conceded a penalty, a set restart and a try in quick sequence. For the final 19 minutes of the half, they got to their kick just twice.

Give Australia that much ball and field position and you're asking for punishment.

The Kangaroos ran up the tries and carried a 26-2 lead into the break that killed off the game as a contest and robbed the blue wave in the stands of their power.

The harder the Samoans tried and the more venom they played with, the more it turned to a choking bile in their throats.

Spencer Leniu dropped the ball with his first touch, got sin-binned for dissent, then dropped the ball with his first touch on return.

They did what they could to the end, and twice had tries chalked off by the barest of margins. But in the end Australia were too clinical, too clever, too willing and able to exploit every little edge on offer until it all added up to a comfortable win.

Samoa's poor discipline — Adam Gee pinged them for a combined 12 restarts and penalties in the end — and errors would have been much to overcome against most sides and most sides aren't packing Australia's heat.

Reece Walsh, raced in a brilliant hat-trick to continue his dazzling tournament and put himself right in the frame to be awarded the Golden Boot on Thursday as the best international player of the year.

The Broncos firecracker was the explosion and the fuse was lit by Cameron Munster and Harry Grant, who were in total control of every aspect of the match throughout.

Pat Carrigan and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui were both strong in the middle in a performance that should help restore a little of the Australian forwards battered reputation.

The win would have been a personal triumph for Fa'asuamaleaui given the Samoa international copped plenty from the crowd.

The Pacific nations have given this World Cup so much and they feel like the future of Test football. But this game was a reminder of the power of old money and that the most dangerous creatures in these waters are still Kangaroos.

There is a reason, for all the improvement Samoa and Tonga have made in recent years, they only have one win over Australia from a combined 10 attempts.

It's the same reason Australia has only lost one game from 18 starts in the set restart era, which is the same reason they haven't lost a game on home soil in 11 years.

To climb the green and gold mountain, you need to be as close as perfect as reality can allow because need a way to douse their firepower and blunt their smarts while getting just about everything right yourself.

New Zealand have the team to do it, to the point they should be favourites for the final. But it's no guarantee they will because team as fierce and skilled as Samoa, for all their might and power, couldn't really get themselves in the fight.

After all their growth, it is the last step they need to take but perhaps the longest of all.

The Kangaroos are as ruthless as they are well-drilled, as fast as they are merciless.

That is why, even as the Davids have gotten bigger, Goliath still reigns.