SAMOA
1. Anthony Milford: An electrifying performance from the Man of the Match, making a game-high 143 metres, 11 tackle breaks, five offloads and two line breaks. A real entertainer. 9.5
2. Anthony Winterstein: Showed off his finishing skills with a neat hat-trick, taking him to four tries for the tournament. 8
3. Tim Lafai: Executed the few opportunities he was given, including a Matt Gidley-style flick pass for the first try of the match. 7
4. Joey Leilua: The second-most dangerous player on the field, breaking six tackles and getting four offloads away. Untackle-able. 8.5
5. Daniel Vidot: Didn't see a whole lot of good ball, but worked hard for a team-high 16 hitups and 134 metres.
6. Penani Manumalealii: Got the ball to the right areas and displayed a composed short kicking game. 7.5
7. Ben Roberts: A typical rocks and diamonds performance, only with more rocks on this occasion with three errors. 5
8. David Fa'alogo: Led the Samoan pack with the most metres (103) and runs (14). Almost nabbed a winger's try too. 7.5
9. Pita Godinet: Distributed the ball cleanly and quickly. Very solid. 7
10. Suaia Matagi: Scored the early try and made his customary damaging runs. 7
11. Iosia Soliola: Outstanding defensive performance from the skipper, including a couple of highlight cover tackles. 8.5
12. Leeson Ah Mau: Showed some footwork, but didn't feature a whole lot. 6.5
13. Sauaso Sue: Got involved in a couple of heated exchanges, first with Jason Tali, and then David Mead in the second half. Growing into a real workhorse. 7
14. Michael Sio: The Warriors youngster struggled mightily, making three errors, including a couple of bad ones from dummy half. 4
15: Mark Taufua: Made a quiet 60 metres from nine runs. 6.5
16. Junior Moors: Much like Taufua, registered a quiet 38 metres and 11 tackles.
17. Mose Masoe: Such is his imposing presence on the field when he got on the field, his 81 metres felt like 150. 7.5
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
1. David Mead: Like most of his team-mates, looked more dangerous as the game wore on. 7
2. Josiah Abavu: Showed good composure to set up Jessie Joe Nandye for their only try, but that was his only rare opportunity. 6
3. Emmanuel Yere: Will be disappointed not to finish off some attacking raids in second half. Committed a team-high three errors, and will have nightmares of Leilua. 5
4. Israel Eliab: Made some decent runs but was otherwise invisible until he picked up an injury in the second half. 5
5. Nene McDonald: Some real growing pains for the Roosters youngster, who was caught out of position too many times against Winterstein. 4.5
6. Dion Aye: We didn't see a whole lot from the five-eighth, who was asked to do a lot of defence. 5
7. Ray Thompson: Really came to the fore in the second half, but couldn't get his team over the line. 7
8. Mark Mexico: Made just 38 metres from his four runs, and likely exhausted himself from the amount of defence his team had to do in the opening exchanges.
9. Paul Aiton: His team's errors limited his attack, so he tackled himself to a standstill, making 43 before coming off. 7
10. Larsen Marabe: Like his front row partner, Marabe paid the price for his team’s error-riddled start, including one of his own at the start. Made just 46 metres from six runs.
11. Jessie Joe Nandye: Scored his team's only try and almost got another in a whole-hearted 80-minute performance. 7.5
12. Alex Chan: Made a handful of damaging runs, busting three tackles in his 13 hit-ups. His experience shone in a pack that struggled to get past the defensive line. 7
13. Neville Costigan: Tried to settle his side’s nervous start with some solid runs but that’s all he could do. The Super League-bound Knights lock added 21 tackles to his eight runs. 6.5
14. Charlie Wabo: His insertion in the second-half coincided with momentum swinging to their favour. Provided spark out of dummy half, and probably should’ve been used earlier. 6.5
15. Richard Kambo: Used sparingly off the bench, almost getting an opportunistic try. 5.5
16. Jason Tali: Adrian Lam’s best performer off the bench made about a dozen vigorous charges for 101 metres, carrying the ball with commitment and tackling with urgency. 6.5
17. Enoch Maki: Playing at his future home ground, the Hull KR signing got himself involved when he came on, making 14 tackles and eight hit-ups. 5.5
