Rugby League World Cup finals pit Australia against New Zealand

The Rugby League World Cup has reached a double Australia-New Zealand showdown. Both the men's and women's finals will feature the rivals on Sunday, according to ABC, which reported Australia's team announcements on November 10.

The routes to those matches were separate. New Zealand's men faced Tonga, while Australia's men played Samoa. In the women's competition, the BBC covered New Zealand against Samoa, and ABC Australia reported Australia's victory over Fiji.

On November 6, the BBC followed the women's semi-final between New Zealand and Samoa. Its live coverage recorded Stacey Waaka scoring after 25 minutes to give New Zealand an 8-0 lead. The supplied extract does not give the final score.

On November 7, New Zealand's men came from behind to beat Tonga 34-10, according to the Guardian. That secured their final place before their opponents had been decided.

ABC Australia highlighted Kalyn Ponga's brilliance and toughness in the victory over Tonga in Newcastle. Its assessment put New Zealand firmly in contention for the trophy.

On November 8, Australia's men completed the pairing by beating Samoa 44-12. Sky Sports described a fractious match and reported Samoa's anger at decisions, with Australia advancing to the Brisbane final.

Also on November 8, ABC Australia reported that the Jillaroos had reached the women's final after defeating Fiji. Its account described unusually strong resistance from Fiji against an Australian side that had dominated the tournament.

On November 10, ABC reported that Australia had named its men's and women's sides for Sunday's finals, including a surprise Jillaroos selection.

Australia's men are one victory from a record-extending 13th World Cup title, according to Sky Sports. New Zealand arrive after overturning a deficit against Tonga and then winning by 24 points.

The women's final is also confirmed as Australia against New Zealand, according to ABC. The supplied team-announcement extract does not identify the surprise Jillaroos selection or provide the full line-ups, so the individual selection changes remain unclear from this coverage.

Sunday's men's final in Brisbane will test whether New Zealand can carry their performance against Tonga into the championship match. Australia enter after a 32-point semi-final win over Samoa, with Sky Sports identifying the title record at stake.

In the women's final, Australia's response to Fiji's challenge is a point to watch. ABC Australia described the Jillaroos as wounded after that victory, while ABC flagged a surprise selection without detailing it in the supplied extract.