Benji Marshall insists there is still more to come from New Zealand despite their 76-12 thrashing of Papua New Guinea.
Kumuls skipper left disappointed by his team's performance
New Zealand captain Benji Marshall praised his side after they dismantled Papua New Guinea 76-12 - but insisted there was still room for improvement.
The Kiwis made it two wins from two in this year's Four Nations with a 14-try demolition of the Kumuls at the International Stadium in Rotorua.
Centre Junior Sa'u and winger Sam Perrett both scored hat-tricks while loose forward Jeremy Smith, who had previously never scored a try for his country, bagged a brace inside the opening quarter.
However Marshall has warned his team-mates that they must keep working hard ahead of next weekend's showdown with Australia.
Solid effort
"I thought it was a good solid effort," he said. "I thought we were pretty disciplined with our game plan.
"I thought PNG dug deep and scored two tries. It will be like winning the World Cup for them back home.
"Our forwards were outstanding again through the middle and our wingers did a good job, coming in and doing some work.
"We were disappointing after last week and we wanted to improve. I think we've taken steps towards improving but we've still got a lot to work on for next week (against Australia)."
Asked if they had the tools to beat the Kangaroos, Marshall - who was rested for much of the second half - added: "We can definitely compete. There are a few things we need to work on and we can still get better.
Something missing
Opposite number Paul Aiton was disappointed with Papua New Guinea's display, even though they did register their first points of the tournament.
Menzie Yere and Glen Nami scored tries in the second-half for the Kumuls who had been beaten 42-0 by Australia in their opening fixture.
"It was very disappointing," said Aiton.
"I don't if there was something missing or we were just too relaxed, but we missed that little something that makes us PNG.
"At least we got to throw the footie around when we held it, but we've got to find that little something that wasn't there tonight."
