WALES
1. Rhys Evans – Had good involvement in attack with 13 runs for 116 metres, plus two tackle breaks and an offload. 6.5
2. Elliot Kear – Made a line-break and a try assist for his team in a decent performance on the wing. 7
3. Ian Webster – Rock solid in defence in an otherwise brittle defensive line, and made three tackle-breaks from eight carries in attack. 7
4. Christiaan Roets – Scored two tries, including a long-range effort in the second half. 8
5. Rhys Williams – Did plenty of work in getting the ball out from his team's end, with 16 runs for 124 metres, plus a line-break. 7.5
6. Lloyd White – Made a couple of errors but at least provided some spark in attack, controlling his team's kicking game and making a couple of tackle busts and three offloads. 7.5
7. Matt Seamark – Didn't run the ball, made three handling errors and couldn't unlock the American defence. 6
8. Craig Kopzcak – Gave away a couple of penalties but with otherwise solid at prop. 6.5
9. Neil Budworth – Made a few savvy darts from dummy-half and defended well with 33 tackles and no missed tackles. 7
10. Jordan James – Only found 47 metres from his six hit-ups, but was a solid contributor in defence with 28 tackles. 6
11. Larne Patrick – Made a rare line break for Wales and found plenty of involvement on the fringes. 7
12. Tyson Frizell – The team's lone NRL star was solid with three tackle busts and 28 tackles. 7
13. Ben Flower – A busy performance from the lock, leading the team's hit-ups, metres gained and tackle counts. 8
14. Gil Dudson – Came off the bench and made 13 hit-ups and a couple of offloads but also conceded two penalties. 6.5
15. Ben Evans – Did little wrong but had limited impact off the bench. 6
16. Peter Lupton – Defended well and notched a try assist. 6.5
17. Anthony Walker – Chased down a grubber to score and kept the American defence busy with three offloads. 6.5
USA
1. Kristian Freed – A quiet but error-free performance from the fullback. 6.5
2. Bureta Faraimo – Led the backline for metres gained with 105 from 16 runs, including a couple of tackle-breaks. 7.5
3. Lelauloto Tagaloa – Had a lot of involvement but made four errors in a performance to forget. 6
4. Taylor Welch – Made a couple of mistakes but was also one of several Tomahawks players to break through the Welsh defensive line. 6.5
5. Matt Petersen – The former Cowboys, Eels and Titans winger scored a try and was good in defence with a game-high five one-on-one tackles. 7.5
6. Joseph Paulo – The star of the show again for the Americans. Paulo had a bad day with the goal-kicking boot but did everything else right, laying on his team's first two tries and scoring another himself. 8.5
7. Craig Priestly – Set up one try to Clint Newton and was an effective foil to Paulo, sharing the kicking duties and chipping in with 19 tackles. 7
8. Mark Offerdahl – A second standout effort in as many games, Offerdahl carried the American pack on his shoulders with 18 runs for 142 metres plus 27 tackles. 8
9. Joel Luani – Didn't miss a tackle and made 29 in a solid effort from the hooker. 7
10. Eddy Pettybourne – Was well contained by the Welsh but did contribute a dozen hit-ups. 7
11. Clint Newton – Found the tryline twice in an inspirational performance from the team's most experienced player. 8
12. Matt Shipway – Led the Tomahawks tackle count. 7.5
13. Danny Howard – Didn't miss a tackle and was a key component of the Americans' strong goal-line defence. 7.5
14. Tui Samoa – Grabbed a try off the bench and was a handful with three tackle-breaks from as many carries. 7
15. Roman Hifo – A decent contributor off the bench. 6.5
16. Judah Lavulo – Didn't have a huge impact. 6
17. Les Soloai – Had little involvement off the bench. 5.5
How It Happened...
15 minutes: The USA blow a try-scoring chance in the corner after a scrappy opening to the game.
17 minutes: Centre Christiaan Roets scores the opening try for Wales against the run of play. Lloyd White missed the conversion out wide, 4-0 Wales.
21 minutes: Clint Newton hits back for the Americans, who go on the attack after receiving a penalty for a high shot. Joseph Paulo sends Newton crashing over, but then misses the conversion. 4-all.
32 minutes: Wales go on the attack but throw a forward pass five metres from the US tryline, moments after knocking on just 10 metres out.
34 minutes: Joseph Paulo notches another try assist, this time throwing a terrific cut-out ball to send Matthew Peterson over for the Americans. Paulo's conversion attempt misses again, USA lead 8-4.
45 minutes: Wales go on the attack in the Tomahawks' half after back-to-back penalties, but are held out.
55 minutes: Wales fullback Rhys Evans drops a bomb despite being under little pressure and the USA spin it wide, with Joseph Paulo gliding through some tame defence to score. His poor day with the boot continues but the USA lead 12-4.
61 minutes: Bench forward Tui Samoa burrows over for a try, confirmed by the video referee, and it's so close to the posts that Paulo can't miss the conversion. The USA lead 18-4 and the result is all but certain.
63 minutes: Things go from bad to worse for Wales with USA halfback Craig Priestley breaking through a gap and sending Newton over for his second under the posts. Paulo converts, 24-4.
68 minutes: Wales are on the attack and have an overlap out wide but the final pass goes into touch.
76 minutes: Finally the Welsh have some more success, with Roets running clear from halfway to touch down for his second. 24-10.
78 minutes: Wales go on the attack again with a line break from their own 20-metre line. With the American defence in disarray a Wales grubber kick is swooped on by Anthony Walker, whose try is converted by White. 26-16, but too little too late from the hosts.
Fulltime: The USA have won two from two while Wales's quarter-final hopes are over.
