Rugby League World Cup: Australia face underdogs Samoa in men's final at Old Trafford

Australia will be looking to win a third consecutive World Cup when they take on Samoa in the final on Saturday.

The women's final is followed by the fixture.

There is commentary on Radio 5 Live as well.

Australia have won the competition 11 times, while Samoa are making their debut in the final.

The Pacific Islanders, who have only played once in the World Cup, are the overwhelming favorites against the Australians, who have played in every final since 1957.

Mal Meninga said that he wouldn't call them massive underdogs.

They've played well. It's not how you start a tournament that matters. They played well against the English, and deserved to be here. They are notunderestimating us.

They have full respect for us. We need to be prepared and focused to win it. The way the game has been developed is demonstrated by the way the game is played.

We are expected to win a lot. We play with the passion and commitment that is part of being Australian, even though we carry that burden.

Only Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand have won the Rugby League World Cup.

The players have been encouraged by the response to their progress among the nation's 200,000 population back home.

The captain said it was special. It's probably part of the reason why we chose to represent Samoa that we've been able to see it on social media. The achievement is one of the proudest.

Team news

Meninga has stuck with the team that played in the semi-finals.

Matt Parish has to make one change to the side that won 27-26 in golden point over England.

Former Featherstone hooker Fa'manu Brown, who deputised for Danny Levi in the semi-final, is ruled out by concussion protocols and will be replaced by utility player Chanel Harris- Tavita.

The game will mark the farewell appearance of Harris-Tavita, who has announced his intention to take a break from the game after the World Cup.

• Fixtures, results and BBC coverage times

All eyes on Luai as man from Cas helps plot Australia's downfall

The opening match of the Rugby Championship between England and Samoa was a debacle, with the English winning 60-6).

They have improved since then and progressed from tough encounters against the host nation to the final with Penrith half-back Jarome Luai playing a starring role.

Other players have had an amazing tournament as well. In five gamesJarome has won three man of the matches.

He has grown as a player and a man. He didn't play in the first grade for the Samoans. He was a good looking young man.

He is a very humble young man who is proud of his heritage and family, and people think he plays with a lot of confidence.

While all eyes are likely to be on Luai's confrontation with his Penrith half-back partner Nathan Cleary, off the pitch Castleford coach Lee Radford will be hoping to plot Australia's downfall.

Lee has been a huge help to our group.

His input into our training and gameplan has been enormous, because he had a handle on the English players.

It's pretty special for him." He was able to send some back last Saturday night after we got pumped in the England game.

We have grown as a team. We will need to grow a lot to compete against the Aussies.

The Australia squad includes Josh Addo-Carr, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Pat Carrigan, Tino Fa'asuamaleuai, Harry Grant, Ben Hunt, Liam Martin, Latrell Mitchell, and Nathan Cleary.

The squad consists of Stephen Crichton, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Royce Hunt, Oregon Kaufusi, Tim Lafai, Connelly Lemuelu, Spencer Leniu, Jarome Luai, and Junior Paolo.

There was a referee, named Ashly Klein.

The touch judges are Jack Smith and Warren Turley.

ChrisKendall was the video ref.