Australia captain James Tedesco scored two tries as the Kangaroos cruised to their 12th Rugby League World Cup crown with a 30-10 victory over Samoa on Saturday.
The Australians had little difficulty in sweeping aside their opponents, who were playing in their first final after beating hosts England to reach the trophy match.
Latrell Mitchell crashed over after 14 minutes before Tedesco and Liam Martin – the latter after a video review – added tries in a prosperous first half for Australia at Old Trafford.
Nathan Cleary only added the extras to one of those first-half tries, though, before Angus Crichton was fortunate to only be sin-binned for a high tackle on Chanel Harris-Tavita after the interval.
Cleary found Cameron Murray to extend 12-man Australia's lead before a delicate Josh Addo-Carr kick teed up Crichton, though the video referee ruled out the try after the latter failed to ground the ball.
Brian To'o finally responded for Samoa with 20 minutes remaining, but any hopes of a fightback were stifled when Tedesco broke through for his second score.
Stephen Crichton managed a late consolation before Mitchell bundled over for his second try, as Australia eased to a 19th straight World Cup match win on English soil to secure more silverware.
Australia Test turnaround after 'one hour of chaos' thrills head coach McDonald
Australia's recovery from the "one hour of chaos" that sank their second Test hopes against India delighted head coach Andrew McDonald.
The tourists lost their first two red-ball games to the hosts, including a dramatic batting collapse in Delhi that cost them the chance of regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
But they recovered to seize victory in the third Test in Indore, thanks to Nathan Lyon's record-breaking spell with ball-in-hand - which saw him become the highest wicket-taker in Tests between Australia and India - during their nine-wicket triumph, one which saw them qualify for the World Test Championship final.
That bounce-back has impressed McDonald, especially after losing six wickets of their own for just 11 runs during the first innings, with the coach thrilled by their resolve.
"You have almost got to be near perfect against India in India," he said. "I think this game besides that 6 for 11 was near perfect.
"We had a little bit of luck [but] we took our opportunities as well. You compare that to the Delhi game. We had one hour of chaos there and that cost us that Test match when we'd played pretty good cricket."
"We came here and doubled down on what we'd set out to achieve at the start of the tour. So on the back of Delhi, it was 'how clear are we going to be in what we need to do next'".
On Lyon's second-innnings 8-64, McDonald added: "We go out there and Nathan Lyon as the experienced spinner delivers one of his best performances. It always takes an individual to do something special to get the team back on track, no doubt about that."
Australia will have the chance to tie the series when they meet India in their final red-ball game in Ahmedabad, starting on Thursday.
Wane to remain England coach despite World Cup semi-final exit
Shaun Wane has signed a new contract with England to remain as head coach until the end of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.
There was disappointment for England at last year's World Cup on home soil as they lost to Samoa in golden-point extra time to exit the tournament in the semi-finals.
Australia went on to defeat Samoa in the final, with the competition – officially the 2021 edition – having been held one year later than planned due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
But following a thorough review, which included the Rugby Football League (RFL) consulting with senior players, former Wigan Warriors boss Wane will retain his job, with France set to host the next World Cup in 2025.
"The RFL Board received and considered at length a detailed review of the performance of each of the England teams at RLWC2021," RFL chair Simon Johnson said.
"No stone was left unturned in the review, which included submissions from coaches, players and staff alike.
"The report generated a good, robust and lengthy discussion at our February board meeting. We are confident that we have the right people in place."
India ease to second Test victory after remarkable Australia collapse
India dominated Australia on day three of the second Test to win by six wickets after career-best figures from Ravindra Jadeja contributed to the tourists' rapid collapse in the first session.
Australia had appeared well poised as play resumed in Delhi, having edged the first innings by a run and ended the previous day on 61-1.
But hopes of levelling the series swiftly vanished as Pat Cummins' side were all out for 113 by lunch.
A routine chase of 115 was completed before tea, although Jadeja was the obvious star of the show for India with figures of 7-42.
He had removed Usman Khawaja the previous day, but it was Ravichandran Ashwin (3-59) who set in motion a remarkable stretch by having Travis Head (43) caught behind and then trapping Steve Smith.
Smith's partnership of 20 with Marnus Labuschagne would prove Australia's most productive of the day as the number three batsman was the next to go when Jadeja kept the ball low to bowl him for 35.
Ashwin got Matt Renshaw lbw, then Jadeja had Peter Handscomb caught in the slips to signal a drinks break. From the very next ball, the rampant Jadeja bowled Cummins with another low delivery.
Repeated attempts by Australia to sweep played into Jadeja's hands, and he quickly wrapped up the innings with the dismissals of Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann.
The final eight wickets fell for just 28 runs, and India's batsmen quickly capitalised despite losing KL Rahul in the second over.
Rohit Sharma scored 31, matched by Cheteshwar Pujara in an unbeaten innings as the hosts reached 118-4 inside 27 overs for a 2-0 series lead.
Day of joy for Jadeja
Jadeja's previous best figures had seen him take 7 for 48 against England back in December 2016, but he managed to improve on that stunning performance.
Indeed, the bowler needed only 12.1 overs this time – versus 25 against England – and required little help from his team-mates, bowling five of the six batsmen he removed on Sunday.
Milestone for Kohli
India did not need any heroes with the bat, but Virat Kohli was still able to pass a milestone in scoring 20 before he was stumped by Carey.
That short 31-ball innings took him past 25,000 runs for India across Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
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