Dearden knows a sterner Test is coming for the Roos

After showing against Tonga that he belongs on the international stage, Tom Dearden turns his attention to the monumental challenge awaiting the Kangaroos in enemy territory on Sunday.

When the Kangaroos take to the field in Christchurch it will be almost a year to the day since they were humbled 30-0 by the Kiwis in the 2023 Pacific Championships final, but Dearden is adamant that the new-look Australian won't need to use that defeat as motivation.

“I think it's a bit of a different side, it's a new year and it's us trying to create our own dynasty in the Australian colours, so I don't think we'll be looking back too much on what happened last year,” Dearden told media in the afterglow of his tryscoring Test debut.

"We know New Zealand has got a great side, they're full of quality players, and playing them over there makes it a lot tougher as well. 

“So we know what we're in for, it’s going to be a tough game and as long as we can focus on us getting better, and improving from what we did against Tonga, that's all that matters.” 

What Mal Meninga's men did against a physical Tonga outfit was defend their line with pride and passion, staving off red waves of attack to keep a clean sheet in front of 33,196 fans in Brisbane.

Never one to shirk the defensive workload, Dearden peeled off 23 tackles to go with 16 runs and a late try to ice the 18-0 victory.

“It was awesome, playing for Australia and wearing the green and gold, it's the pinnacle of rugby league,” Dearden said. 

“It was special [playing at Suncorp] because my family lives about two hours up the road, so they were all able to come and watch.

“Having all my aunties, uncles, mum, dad, brothers, everyone here made it really special.” 

The final scoreline looked impressive enough but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Kangaroos as they racked up 19 errors and completed at just 61 per cent.

“We haven't really had many training sessions or any games together at all, so it’s something that we'll build on over the camp and the campaign,” Dearden said. 

“It was a starting point tonight and it was a bit clunky, but it's definitely building for us.” 

The combative Cowboy was full of praise for the team's back five, who tallied 956 metres between them and had player of the match Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in their ranks.

“It’s awesome, playing for Australia you're always going to have great players around you and those guys were enormous for us," he said.

“So it's great to have players like them in your team.  

“It was awesome to be able to play alongside some of the best players in the world.”