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NZ make two changes for Four Nations final

09/11/2010 02:59:03 PM Comments (0)

New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney made two changes to his starting 13 for Saturday night's Four Nations rugby league final against Australia at Suncorp Stadium.

Greg Eastwood and Bronson Harrison have both been brought into the run-on side, Eastwood swapping places with prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala who has been demoted to the bench.

Harrison, who was rested for last weekend's 34-20 loss to the Kangaroos at Eden park, comes in for Sika Manu, who was named on a seven-man bench.

Kearney said the squad's depth had made choosing a final 17 difficult, and he admitted he was still tossing up the exact make-up of his bench.

"We've had that dilemma the whole tournament, who to leave out and who to put in, it's a healthy position for us, but it doesn't change the fact that we have to play well on Saturday night," Kearney said.

"We understand we have to play extremely well to challenge Australia.

Canterbury-bound backrower Frank Pritchard was not considered due to a knee injury suffered last week, while uncapped utility Lewis Brown was also part of the extended interchange list.

"He has a four to six week injury, he's no chance," Kearney said of Pritchard.

"He's certainly a strike weapon with his carry, but we are fortunate in that we have a handy replacement in Bronson Harrison."

Team: Lance Hohaia, Jason Nightingale, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Junior Sa'u, Sam Perrett, Benji Marshall (capt), Nathan Fien, Greg Eastwood, Thomas Leuluai, Adam Blair, Bronson Harrison, Simon Mannering, Jeremy Smith. Interchange: Issac Luke, Ben Matulino, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Sam McKendry, Sika Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Lewis Brown (three to omitted).

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