Australian captain Darren Lockyer claims Test selectors had been vindicated in showing faith in the incumbents after the Kangaroos romped to a 30-6 win over New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

The Australians dominated the match throughout but were flattered by the final scoreline, with two tries in the final three minutes.

Kangaroos winger Brent Tate, who crossed for a try just after half-time, was one of several players, along with Brisbane teammate Karmichael Hunt, whose selection had been questioned in the lead-up to the match.

But they answered in the best possible fashion, with the duo producing dynamic performances to leave the Kiwis still searching for their first mid-season Test win over Australia since 1998, New Zealand having now lost their last five Tests against the Kangaroos.

Lockyer praised selectors for showing faith in the side which regained the Tri-Nations trophy last year, especially the six Brisbane players selected despite the club's disastrous 1-4 start to the NRL season.

"We got pretty much the same team and I think these players deserved to hold their spots," said Lockyer, who equalled Reg Gasnier with 36 Tests appearances, second only to former Test captain Mal Meninga on 42.

"They've done nothing wrong in this jersey and they were all great again.

"The whole team played well and those guys were picked on what they had done before. If you pick the best club players every time on form, you'd get a different team every time."

Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart said the players never had anything to prove to him.

"The players didn't have anything to justify to me, you can't play the Tri-Nations series like we did last year and not show those players loyalty and respect," Stuart said.

"It's amazing what an Australian jumper does when you put it on. I wouldn't have wanted any other team."

The Kiwis came out with an obvious ploy to try and unsettle the home side, and Manu Vatuvei and Simon Mannering carried it out to a tee with a thunderous hit on Hunt in the opening minute.

The visitors were playing with plenty of emotion and spirit, which was not surprising considering there were eight players in their squad aged 21 or younger.

Coach Brian McClennan praised his youthful side, which had been picked with next year's World Cup in mind.

"They showed a lot of potential and promise, I liked what I saw tonight," McClennan said.

"But there was too much dropped ball and that comes down to a lack of cohesion.

The emotional start soon started to take its toll and the Australians pounced.

For all their dominance the home side took only a slender 6-0 lead into the break after Willie Mason - who continued his pre-game silence through the Kiwi rendition of the haka - had put the visitors on the back foot with a barnstorming run.

Johnathan Thurston sent Nathan Hindmarsh over on the next play, but save for a fumble over the line from Mason two minutes later, the Australians weren't able to capitalise on their territorial advantage over the opening 40 minutes.

Eventually it was a diabolical error from Kiwi halfback Ben Roberts which allowed the Aussies to break the game open with two tries in the space of six minutes shortly after the restart.

Perched under a massive Lockyer bomb, Roberts took a peek as the footsteps closed in and the ball slipped through his hands and allowed Matt King to clean up the scraps before Tate made it 18-0.

The Kiwis found some life when Manu Vatuvei scored after winning the chase to a Simon Mannering grubber, but tries to Hunt in the 77th and Lockyer on the bell sealed the deal for the home side.

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