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This Test was supposed to be about ushering in the new era of Kangaroos. Instead Australia's five debutants received a hefty dose of Test match reality as the Kiwis beat the Kangaroos 30-12 to defeat Australia for the first time since the 2010 Four Nations final.
Already bereft of a host of stars that led them to last year's World Cup, the Kangaroos were forced to compete without Greg Inglis and Daly Cherry-Evans in the second half. Cherry-Evans was assisted from the field five minutes before half-time with a lower back injury, while sickness meant Inglis didn't return after half-time.
The double blow, coupled with a scintillating performance from Shaun Johnson, ended the Kiwis' eight-game losing steak against Australia.
Big men Kevin Proctor, Jason Taumalolo – the only Kiwis debutant – and Jesse Bromwich dominated Australia's forward pack, creating plenty of second phase as the Kiwis took advantage of Australia's decision to play just one regular front-rower.
Australia's injuries forced a dramatic reshuffle with Robbie Farah switching to the halves and debutant Dylan Walker replacing Inglis at fullback, while Beau Scott and Aiden Guerra spent time at right centre.
The sides were level 12-all at half-time before the Kiwis raced in three unanswered second-half tries, all from kicks, to open their Four Nation's campaign with a victory in front of 47,813 fans at Suncorp Stadium.
The Kangaroos seemed destined for an easy night when Scott strolled through with his first touch of the game to open the scoring after three minutes.
An angled run from Scott helped create all the space Cooper Cronk needed for the back-rower to score his first Test try.
Australia mounted their attack following a Gerard Beale error. Handling errors and ill-discipline gifted try-scoring opportunities to the Kiwis as momentum began to shift.
New Zealand looked to have scored their first try, only for the normally reliable Jason Nightingale to spill the ball over the try line. Nightingale had pounced on a cut-out pass from Kieran Foran and seemed destined to score.
The Kiwis didn't have to wait long for their first points. Back-rower Kevin Proctor carried three Kangaroos players – including Storm teammate Ryan Hoffman – over the try line with a charge – more determined than creative – to draw the sides level.
Australia's left defensive edge of Hoffman, Cherry-Evans and Michael Jennings were vulnerable in the opening exchanges as the Kiwis found plenty of space down that side of the field.
Fresh troops helped spark the Kangaroos when Inglis took advantage of consecutive quick play-the-balls by interchange players Corey Parker and Josh Papalii. An Inglis dummy at acting half bamboozled the Kiwis defence to allow him to step over the try line in the 21st minute.
New Zealand back-up hooker Lewis Brown obviously liked what he saw from Inglis, as he replicated a dummy of his own to even the score up eight minutes later when he scored.
The Kiwis capitalised on a vulnerable Kangaroos team after the break with the boot of Johnson and halves partner Foran laying on points.
An early tackle grubber and regather saw Johnson break the deadlock seven minutes after half-time, while a cross-field bomb by Foran found a leaping Dean Whare to extend the Kiwis lead by six four minutes later.
Australia looked to regain some ascendancy as they settled into the game midway through the second half, but their makeshift combinations never troubled the Kiwis defence.
Another bomb found a positive result for the Kiwis when a towering Johnson kick was fumbled by Walker before Nightingale crossed to make up for his first-half gaffe to hand the Kiwis an unbeatable 30-12 lead.
The loss means Australia must defeat England and Samoa in their next pool games to be any hope of securing a finals spot.
