LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
In a surprising turn of events, the pre-match stand-off between the New Zealand and Australian rugby league teams in Melbourne was not planned, according to New Zealand captain James Fisher-Harris.
Despite the unexpected nature of the confrontation, Fisher-Harris admitted that the intense face-off between the two teams looked "pretty cool." Australian captain James Tedesco stated that his players were unsure of what was happening after the haka, a traditional Maori war dance, and explained that they were simply "paying their respects" to their opponents.
Following the stare-down, the Kiwis advanced towards their unmoving opponents, eventually coming face-to-face with each other.
However, Fisher-Harris revealed that the confrontation was unintentional and that the New Zealand team had been waiting for the Kangaroos to move so they could proceed with their warm-up before the game commenced.
Despite the unexpected turn of events, Fisher-Harris explained that after the stare-down, the Kiwis began moving towards their designated area, inadvertently passing through the Australians.
Fisher-Harris concluded by stating, "To be honest, we were just going to the half-way and they wanted to stare at us, so we went right up to them."