Kangaroos survive late Tonga scare as Tom Dearden leads Australia to 20-14 Pacific Cup final glory

Tom Dearden has shown he belongs in the do-or-die environment of Test rugby league after standing tall and guiding Australia to a 20-14 Pacific Cup final win over Tonga. Australia were crowned Pacific Cup champions on Sunday afternoon after beating Tonga 20-14 Tom Dearden sent a big message to Mal Meninga and proved that he can perform in the Test match stage 'His confidence has grown over three games, and his belief that he belongs in this arena,' Meninga said. Tom Trbojevic also impressed, grabbing two tries during the match to help seal the win Xavier Coates produced a moment of magic to touch down in the corner for Australia Halfback Isaiya Katoa was the architect of his side's sixth-minute opener, crabbing across field to set up Sione Katoa, who sent the hymn-singing Tongan crowd wild. There was heartache for Tonga at full-time, after they had surged back late on in the game The Kangaroos celebrated on the field at full-time after making amends for their huge loss against New Zealand in last year's final But any glimmer of hope Tonga could claw their way back into the game quickly dissipated when centre Paul Alamoti reeled out a tackle with a dislocated elbow.