The one change the Kangaroos must make against Tonga to avoid ugly 40-year first

Defeat against Tonga will deliver Australia their first back-to-back international rugby league defeats in 40 years. And the Kangaroos know a repeat performance of the one against New Zealand last week will also leave them susceptible to one of the biggest upsets in league history. The historic clash with Tonga in Auckland is one of the most fiercely anticipated Tests in years, following Andrew Fifita and Jason Taumalolo's efforts to revolutionise the Mate Ma'a in the past 12 months.

The rejuvenated Tongans showed their potential by reaching the finals of last year's World Cup, but it's not all going according to plan for the Kangaroos. The world champions suffered a humbling 26-24 loss to New Zealand last weekend where they had just 43 per cent of the ball. Australia completed 73 per cent of their sets against the Kiwis in their first match since the retirements of anchors Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk. "The biggest thing for us is just holding the ball," prop Aaron Woods said. "We put ourselves under the pump too much and had to make too many tackles. Walking off at half-time the possession was 69 per cent to 31.