1. Why the Kangaroos can win

After being thumped 30-12 by New Zealand three weeks ago at Suncorp Stadium, the Kangaroos were labelled by some as the worst team to represent Australia. Missing 10 members of the side which beat the Kiwis in May, the Kangaroos were outmuscled in the forwards and lacked firepower in the backs. But the introduction of giant Canterbury prop David Klemmer, Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt and Newcastle winger Sione Mata'utia has transformed the team. In the second game of the tournament against England, Hunt came off the bench for the final 27 minutes and proved a match winner as he worked in tandem with regular dummy half Cameron Smith.

The Kangaroos were also forced to play the second half against the Kiwis without superstar fullback Greg Inglis and five-eighth Daly Cherry-Evans, who both had a big impact on the 16-12 defeat of England and last weekend's 42-18 win over Samoa. While stars such as Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston are absent, the Australian spine still comprises of Smith, halfback Cooper Cronk, Cherry-Evans and Inglis, while Greg Bird (15 Tests), Sam Thaiday (26) and Corey Parker (10) were the backrow in last year's World Cup final.

2. Why the Kiwis can win

Until their 34-2 thrashing by the Kangaroos in the World Cup final, New Zealand had been the form team of the tournament and their capitulation at Old Trafford prompted an internal inquiry. However, on this occasion the Kiwis appear to be building with each match and after coming from behind to beat Samoa 14-12 in an Origin-type contest at Whangerei, their defence was again superb last weekend to hold out England 16-12 in a Test described by many as one of the best they have seen. While Australia lost Cherry-Evans and Inglis to injury in the opening match, New Zealand were without Issac Luke and Manu Vatuvei and they also have a long list of unavailable players, who were this week joined by utility Thomas Leuluai.

To win, the Kiwis will have to beat Australia back-to-back for the first time since 1954 but the recent finals records of the two countries are identical, with each having won three of the last six tournaments.

3. Will English referee Phil Bentham play a role?

Refereeing appointments have provided the biggest controversy of the tournament, with the Australians believing Phil Bentham allowed the Kiwis too slow the play the ball in the opening game but being much happier with NRL whistleblower Gerard Sutton in their last two matches. The problem is that the tournament organisers can't decide whether they want to have nuetral referees or the best man for the job and allowed Australia (Sutton),England (Bentham) and New Zealand (Henry Perenara) to each make an appointment to the Four Nations panel.

The opening round of matches had nuetral referees but the England and Samoa camps were unhappy the second weekend when their respective games against New Zealand and Australia were controlled by a compatriot of their opposition and both suffered narrow defeats in controversial circumstances.

4. What has the Four Nations done for international rugby league?

The continued improvement of England and the emergence of Samoa as a competitive fourth team has been a massive boost for Test football and interest in the tournament has exceeded most expectations. Besides record attendances at most games, Australia's opening game against New Zealand attracted 1,087,000 viewers nationally, while last Sunday afternoon's Test against Samoa drew a television audience of 876,000 - even though it was shown on delay in Queensland. I

n Britain, the England-Australia Test was watched by more than 1.3 million viewers on BBC. The 47,813 opening match crowd at Suncorp Stadium broke a 60-year record for the biggest attendance at a non-World Cup Test in Brisbane, while the 16,912 crowd packed into Toll Stadium in Whangerei was the biggest for a New Zealand-Samoa Test and last Sunday's 18,456 crowd at WIN Stadium was the biggest for a home Test against any nation besides England or New Zealand since 1966.